Woman Catches Leptospirosis from Unwashed Coke Can
Netlore Archive: False email rumor claims a woman in North Texas (or Belgium, or Botswana, etc.) came down with the deadly disease leptospirosis after drinking Coke from an unwashed can contaminated with dried rat urine
Description: Email flier
Circulating since: Sep. 2002
Status: False
Analysis: See below
Variant #1:
Email example contributed by Phil R., 25 September 2002:
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Subject: FW: Coke anyone? Charming........ This incident happened recently in Belgium. A woman went boating one Sunday, taking with her some cans of coke which she put in the refrigerator of the boat. On Monday she was taken into ICU and on Wednesday she died. The autopsy revealed a certain Leptospirosis caused by the can of coke from which she had drunk straight out of,not using a glass. A test showed that the can was infected by dried rat urine and hence the disease Leptospirosis. Rat urine contains toxic and deathly substances. It is highly recommended to wash thoroughly the upper part of soda cans before drinking out of them as they have been stocked in warehouses and transported straight to the shops without with being cleaned. A study in Spain showed that the tops of soda cans are more contaminated then public toilets i.e full of germs and bacteria. So to wash them with water is advised before putting it to the mouth to avoid any kind of fatal accident. |
Variant #2:
Email example contributed by Kim P., 8 April 2005:
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IMPORTANT PLEASE READ This incident happened recently in North Texas . We need to be even more careful everywhere. A woman went boating one Sunday, taking with her some cans of coke which she put in the refrigerator of the boat. On Monday she was taken into Intensive Care Unit and on Wednesday she died. The autopsy revealed a certain Leptospirose caused by the can of coke from which she had drunk, not using a glass. A test showed that the can was infected by dried rat urine and hence the disease Leptospirosis. Rat urine contains toxic and deathly substances. It is highly recommended to wash thoroughly the upper part of soda cans before drinking out of them as they have been stocked in warehouses and transported straight to the shops without being cleaned A study at NYCU showed that the tops of soda cans are more contaminated than public toilets (i.e).. full of germs and bacteria. So wash them with water before putting them to the mouth to avoid any kind of fatal accident. Please forward this message to all the people you care about. |
Comments: If you compare the two different versions above, one of which began circulating in 2002 and the other three years later in 2005 (with variants in between), you will find them identical except for the following features:
- The first claims the woman became sick in Belgium, the second in North Texas.
- The first refers to the disease as "Leptospirosis," the second calls it "Leptospirose."
- The first claims a study in Spain showed that the tops of soda cans are "more contaminated than public toilets," the second says the study was done at "NYCU" (perhaps meaning NYU, or New York University).
Leptospirosis is a real (though relatively rare) disease and it can be transmitted via rat urine or feces, but the only cases reported in Texas over the past several years affected the canine population only.
This rumor is very similar to, and may have been inspired by, another email flier warning of deadly diseases transmitted via rat urine/droppings on soda cans that began circulating in 1999.
Sources and further reading:
Coke Can Diseases Hoax
KCBD-TV News (Lubbuck, TX), 23 March 2006Leptospirosis Overview
Adam Healthcare CenterDisease Information: Leptospirosis
Centers for Disease Control
Last updated: 05/07/07
