There are always false reports on Facebook, which are then posted by everyone. Here are some examples of what these messages/posts can look like. If you receive such reports, please do not pass them on! Today, a hoax (English for joke, prank, practical joke; also fraud) is usually a false report that is spread by many via email, instant messenger or other means (e.g. SMS, MMS or social networks). believed to be true and therefore forwarded to friends, colleagues, relatives and other people. [wikipedia.org].

The following status post is circulating on Facebook and is a hoax:

Urgent warning: Do not drink from Cola/Fanta/beer beverage cans!!!

Information from the Upper Austrian Medical Association Medical notice!

A woman recently died under absurd circumstances. She drank from cans of mineral drinks (Fanta, Coca, beer, etc.) when she was on Lake Geneva.

She was admitted to hospital in Lausanne on Monday and died on Wednesday. The autopsy revealed that she died of leptospirosis fulgurante.

She didn't bring a glass with her on the ship and drank straight from the can. An inspection of the cans revealed that the cans were contaminated with rat urine, i.e. Leptospiras. The woman probably hadn't cleaned the top of the can before drinking.

This was infected with dry rat urine, which contains toxic, deadly substances such as Leptospiras, which causes leptospirosis.

These cans are kept in warehouses that are full of rats and are then sold unwashed. After purchase, the cans should be thoroughly cleaned with dishwashing detergent before putting them in the refrigerator. According to a study in Spain by INMETRO, the cans are more contaminated than public toilets!

This message should be passed on to as many people as possible.

Communication from the Geneva Cantonal Hospital.

Medical Association for Upper Austria
Dinghoferstraße 4, 4010 Linz
Tel.: +43-XXXXXXXXXXXX, Fax

This hoax first appeared in 1999 and was still in English at the time:

Subject: Be careful of Rats' droppings.

A stock clerk was sent to clean up a storeroom at their Maui location.

Then he got back, he was complaining that the storeroom was really filthy, and that he had noticed dried mouse or rat droppings in some areas.

A couple of days later, he started feeling like he was coming down with stomach flu, achy joints, headache, and he started throwing up. He went to bed and never really got up. Within two days he was so ill and weak. His blood sugar count was down to 66 and his face and eyeballs were yellow. He was rushed to the emergency at Pali Momi, where they said he was suffering from massive organ failure!

The doctor, in ER, transferred him to St. Francis Hospital and notifies all his relatives as he didn't have long to live. In ICU of St. Francis Hospital, a team of doctors were trying desperately to stabilize him. They said that even if by some miracle he pulled through, he would need a new liver, kidneys, pancreas and bladder. He died shortly before midnight.

None of us would have ever made the connection between his job and his death, but the doctors specifically asked if he had been in a warehouse or exposed to dried rat or mouse droppings at any time.

They said there is a virus (much like Hanta virus) that lives in dried rat and mouse droppings. Once dried, these droppings are like dust, and can easily be inhaled or ingested if a person is not careful to wash their hands and face thoroughly, or wear protective gear. An autopsy is being conducted to verify the doctors' suspicions and tissue samples have been sent to the CDC in Atlanta.

Please be extremely careful to always rinse off the tops of any canned sodas or foods, and wipe off pasta packaging, cereal boxes, etc. Almost everything you buy in a supermarket was stored in a warehouse at one time or another, and stores themselves often have rodents. I worked in grocery wholesaling long enough to know that even the cleanest store has mice or rats.

Whenever you buy any canned soft drink, please make sure that you wash the top with running water and soap, or if not available, drink with a straw. A family friend's friend died after drinking can of soda! Apparently, she did not clean the top before drinking from the can. The top was encrusted with dried rat's urine, which is toxic and obviously lethal!!!! canned drinks and other foodstuffs are stored in warehouses and containers that are usually infested with rodents and then get transported to the retail outlets without being properly cleaned.

Please forward this message to the people you care about..

Source: Urbanlegends.about.com – http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blrats2.htm

This message appeared in German-speaking countries in 2002!

See TU Berlin:
http://hoax-info.tubit.tu-berlin.de/hoax/rattenurintxt.shtml

See Hamburger Abendblatt:
http://www.abendblatt.de/ratgeber/wissen/article747705/Mehr-Diehrung-als-Wahrheit.html