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.
( I JUST DID ! ) |
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).
Not to worry -- neither version is true. Though rat urine can transmit diseases that affect humans (if the rat itself is a carrier), it is not inherently toxic or rife with "deathly substances." There is no record in standard medical research databases of a study comparing the cleanliness of soda cans with that of public toilets. Soda cans are typically stored and shipped in shrink wrap or cardboard cases, so they are an unlikely vehicle for dried rat urine, contaminated or otherwise.
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.
