but in any case, it can't hurt to heed the warning. This is NOT a joke.

> Subject:: PLEASE READ AND TAKE CARE
>
> A stock clerk was sent to clean up a storeroom in Maui, Hawaii.
> When 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 to feel like he was coming
> down with a stomach flu, complained of sore joints and
> headaches, and began to vomit. He went to bed and never
> really got up again. Within two days he was severely 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 he was diagnosed to be suffering from massive
> organ failure. He died shortly before midnight.
>
> No one would have made the connection between his job and
> his death, had it not been for a doctor who 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 the Hanta virus) that lives in dried rat and mouse droppings.
>
> Once dried, these droppings are like dust and can easily be
> breathed in or ingested if a person does not wear protective gear
> or fails to wash face and hands thoroughly.
>
> An autopsy was performed on the clerk to verify the
> doctor's suspicions.
>
> This is why it is extremely important to ALWAYS carefully
> rinse off the tops of canned sodas or foods, and to wipe off
> pasta packaging, cereal boxes, and so on.
>
> Almost everything you buy in a supermarket was stored in a
> warehouse at one time or another, and stores themselves
> often have rodents.
>
> Most of us remember to wash vegetables and fruits but
> never think of boxes and cans.
>
> The ugly truth is, even the most modern, upper-class, super
> store has rats and mice. And their warehouse most assuredly does!
>
> Whenever you buy any canned soft drink, please make sure that
> you wash the top with running water and soap or, if that
> is not available, drink with a straw.
>
> The investigation of soda cans by the Center for Disease Control
> in Atlanta discovered that the tops of soda cans can be
> encrusted with dried rat's urine, which is so toxic it can
> be lethal. Canned drinks and other foodstuffs are stored in
> warehouses and containers that are usually infested with
> Rodents, and then they get transported to retail outlets
> without being properly cleaned.
>
> Please forward this message to the people you care about.
> (I JUST DID!)
>
>