afraid of catching something from my rats

Question
Robin,
my two rats are very sick and i am almost certain that they will not make it another day. i picked up one and noticed he left some small reddish bugs on my shirt sleeve. i think these are mites and im worried that i will get them to. if not mites, im afraid that when i clean out their cage i will catch something eles like lice. is this possible? if so, how will i know if i have picked something up off of them?
are there any precautions i should take while cleaning the cages out? please respond as soon as possible.
thank you for your time.


Answer
 The parasites that rats can get are not transmittable to humans.  They may fall onto your skin and crawl around but they cannot drink your blood or reproduce on you.  To treat the parasites, buy a single tube of puppy / kitten Advantage or Revolution from your veterinarian and, using a 1cc syringe or eyedropper, apply a single drop to the back of your rats' necks.  Clean out the cage really well, including all toys and accessories, and repeat the dose in two weeks.  This will get rid of any external parasites on your rats.  To prevent reinfection, avoid contact with other rats and freeze bedding to be used for 24-72 hours before putting it in your rats' cage.

 You don't need to take any precautions when cleaning the cage, but make sure you do it thoroughly so none of the parasites survive to get back onto the rat.  Hope this helps, good luck with your rats!