Giant rat celebrated for detecting one of the world's deadliest illnesses: 'We really do see them as heroes'
Carolina isn't your average retiree. After seven years of devoted work, Carolina, an African giant pouched rat, had sniffed out more than 3,000 cases of tuberculosis that medical tests had missed, likely helping 30,000 more people avoid infection, according to National Geographic.
Carolina worked for APOPO, a nonprofit organization that has 40 trained rats fighting TB in Tanzania and Ethiopia. These remarkable animals aren't your typical city pests. Their bodies are longer than a 13-inch laptop, with equally long tails and an extraordinary sense of smell.
"Everybody's first impression is that the rats are our enemies," said physician Tefera Agizew, head of tuberculosis for APOPO, in the National Geographic report. "Once they see how they function, they fall in love with them."
TB remains the top killer worldwide from a single infectious agent, according to the World Health Organization. In Tanzania and Ethiopia alone, over 50,000 people died from TB in 2023, reported epidemiologist Tess Ryckman of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, per National Geographic.
These rats are helping out in a big way — Carolina is able to screen 100 sputum samples in just 20 minutes, compared to the four days it takes a human with a microscope. This speed and accuracy have boosted detection rates by 40% at local clinics.
The rats go through a year of training, incentivized with banana-avocado smoothie rewards. Each must pass a final test: evaluating 500 samples without missing a single positive case.
APOPO's program, called HeroRATS, began with landmine detection before expanding to TB, National Geographic reported. Last year alone, the program prevented nearly 400,000 new TB cases in Tanzania and Ethiopia.
Carolina now enjoys retirement in an outdoor enclosure, which she shares with a roommate, fellow retiree Gilbert. Her send-off featured applause, cake, and celebration from her human colleagues.
"Not only are we saving people's lives, but we're also changing these perspectives and raising awareness and appreciation for something as lowly as a rat," said Cindy Fast, who coaches the rats as APOPO's head of training and behavioral research. "Because our rats are our colleagues, and we really do see them as heroes."
The next time you wrinkle your nose at a rodent, remember Carolina, the giant rat with a tiny nose saving thousands of lives, one sniff at a time.
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