This was the most sinister image of a rat I could find on short order. Rats are so easily depicted in cartoons as evil, menacing creatures. But in most photos they simply look like furry rodents. Maybe not your cup of tea, but not necessarily something to induce cringing.

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But maybe this tale (tail, punny) will change your mind.

Here is yet one more confirmation that rats are indeed vermin. It seems that the brown or common rat, the most common rat in Europe, may be carrying the latest and greatest dread bacteria, a newly emerged zoonotic pathogen (say those last three words three times fast) known as Bartonella s. (Bartonella? Sounds like an apple cider drink I'll be having for the holidays).

It turns out that the rats are actually carrying the bacteria carriers, which are the rat fleas. That's right: this ugly tale is three layers deep (rat -- flea -- bacteria). And rats aren't the only culprit; voles, gerbils, and other rodentia are guilty of carrying these bacteria as well. These bacteria, of which some 20 species are floating around) can wreak all sorts of destruction, affecting hearts and spleens, etc.

Thankfully, if some 21st-century plague is headed our way, cats won't be blamed this time. In fact, we may find our feline friends in high demand. They'll be haughtier and more demanding than ever.

Thanks for the article, Ida.