Household rats are known agents of human diseases worldwide. They are vehicles of transmission of bacteria, viral, fungal and protozoal disease to man. Rats and human guts with similarities are colonized with normal flora that can harbour multidrug-resistant organisms transmissible to man. This study investigates the microbial load of household rats and their resistance micro-organisms which are transmissible to man. This knowledge is useful for household rat disease burden management in our

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... ironment and in healthcare setting. A cross-sectional descriptive and analysis of 200 trapped rat collected from 100 household in Abraka, Nigeria after consent were obtained. The trapped rats were killed, dissected and swab taken from each throat, small and large intestine respectively for analysis of bacteria and fungi load (Using serial, dilution and viable count method). Other biochemical tests for bacteria and fungi analysis were done according to standard Microbiology methods. The results obtained shows more bacteria load in small intestine of household rats compared to throat and large intestines. Bacteriodes fragilis and Escherichia coli were the predominant bacteria obtained, while Candida albicans and other Candida species were the most abundant fungi seen. More than two-third of the bacteria isolates were resistant to commonly used antibiotics such as Ampicillin, Penicillin, Trimetoprinsuphamethoxazole, and Cefriazone. Households rats in our study indicate a high burden of bacteria and fungi load with increased bacteria resistance. Reporting of this zoonotic disease associated with these organisms, proper diagnosis and management are required to mitigate this potential source burden of these disease causing agents.