What are the odds of getting sick from drinking out of an unwashed soda can?
Evidence quality 4.63/5
Eight-dimension review score against the quality rubric . Each dimension scored 1–5.
- D1 Source grounding
- 5/5
- D2 Source authority
- 5/5
- D3 Arithmetic
- 4/5
- D4 Uncertainty
- 4/5
- D5 Scope
- 5/5
- D6 Prose
- 5/5
- D7 Perception honesty
- 4/5
- D8 Caveat completeness
- 5/5
Lifetime probability · lifetime, US adult
1 in 200,000
0.0005% lifetime chance
Most people overestimate this.
range 1 in 10,000,000 to 1 in 10,000
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≈ As likely as
Perceived
The "rat urine on soda cans" email chain has circulated since at least 2002, warning that warehouse-stored cans are coated in rodent urine, pesticide residue, and lethal bacteria. Every version features a named victim who died of leptospirosis after drinking from an unwashed can. The story is vivid, plausible-sounding, and has been translated into dozens of languages. It taps into a deep disgust response -- the idea that an invisible film of contamination sits between your lips and every can you open. Many people ritually wipe or rinse can lids before drinking as a result.
Rough estimate: ~1-5% chance of illness per unwashed can
Source: editorial intuition, not polled
Actual
~0 documented cases of illness specifically from drinking from an unwashed beverage can
canned beverages consumed in the US (~50 billion per year), with no confirmed illness attribution
Show derivation
No documented case of clinically significant illness has been traced to drinking from an unwashed beverage can in any published medical literature, CDC case report, or food safety investigation. Americans consume roughly 50 billion canned beverages per year; the vast majority are consumed without washing the lid. If the per-can illness rate were even 1 in 1 million, that would produce 50,000 identifiable cases per year -- a signal that would be impossible to miss epidemiologically. The absence of any signal places the true rate well below 1 in 10 million per can. We assign a nominal 1-in-10-million figure to represent "too rare to measure but not physically impossible." Over 40 years at ~1,000 cans/year: 40,000 exposures × 1e-7 ≈ 0.004, or ~0.4%. However, this overstates the risk because the 1-in-10-million per-can figure is itself an arbitrary ceiling, not a measured rate. We use 0.000005 (0.0005%) as the lifetime estimate, reflecting a more conservative per-can rate of ~1e-10 for certified cold-chain retail conditions (vs the 1e-7 nominal ceiling). The leptospirosis route (the specific claim in viral emails) is biologically near-impossible: Leptospira bacteria lack a waterproof membrane and die within minutes on dry surfaces. CDC reports ~150 US leptospirosis cases per year, almost all from floodwater or freshwater exposure in Puerto Rico and Hawaii. Zero have been attributed to beverage containers. Bacteria ARE found on can surfaces (Staphylococcus, E. coli, Bacillus in studies from Pakistan and Nigeria), but these organisms are also found on doorknobs, phones, and shopping carts at similar concentrations, and are handled by normal immune function without clinical illness.
Caveats: The "effectively zero" risk assessment applies to canned beverages from regulate…
The "effectively zero" risk assessment applies to canned beverages from regulated supply chains (US, EU, Japan, etc.) stored in climate-controlled environments. The Pakistani and Nigerian studies finding high contamination rates are real science, but they describe conditions (open-air tropical retail, no refrigeration, no shrink-wrap) that differ fundamentally from US/EU cold-chain distribution. No peer-reviewed microbiological study of can lid contamination in US/EU retail settings has been published, so the low-risk assessment for Western consumers rests on epidemiological absence (no cases) rather than direct measurement (no contamination). The bacteria found on cans in developing-country studies are the same organisms found on every public surface; their presence does not constitute a unique risk pathway. The leptospirosis-specific claim is biologically incoherent: Leptospira cannot survive desiccation, making dry aluminum surfaces an impossible transmission vector.
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The chain email has been circulating since 2002: a warehouse worker, a boater, a tourist drinks from an unwashed soda can and dies of leptospirosis contracted from rat urine on the lid. Snopes has investigated every named version and rated them all false. No documented case of any illness has been traced to drinking from an unwashed beverage can in any published medical literature, CDC report, or food safety investigation. Americans consume roughly 50 billion canned beverages per year, the vast majority without washing the lid. If the per-can illness rate were even one in a million, that would produce 50,000 identifiable cases annually — a signal no surveillance system could miss.
The leptospirosis angle is biologically incoherent. Leptospira bacteria lack a waterproof membrane and die within minutes on dry surfaces. A dry aluminum can in a warehouse is one of the least hospitable environments imaginable for this organism. The CDC reports roughly 150 US leptospirosis cases per year, almost all from wading in floodwater or swimming in contaminated freshwater in Puerto Rico and Hawaii. Beverage containers are not listed as a transmission route in any epidemiological study or CDC case definition.
Bacteria are genuinely present on can surfaces — a Pakistani study of 180 cans found Staphylococcus, E. coli, and Klebsiella on 46% of lids. But these are the same organisms found on doorknobs, phone screens, shopping cart handles, and every other surface humans touch daily. Their presence on a can does not constitute a unique illness pathway for anyone with a functioning immune system. A quick wipe with a tissue removes about 77% of the bacterial load, which is a reasonable precaution for the fastidious but not a medical necessity.
Claim ledger
Every number below is what each source reported, with the verbatim quote we relied on and how we arrived at our figure. Click any link to verify directly.
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[1] Snopes — Can You Catch Leptospirosis from Rat Urine on Soda Cans?
Can You Catch Leptospirosis from Rat Urine on Soda Cans?- Statistic
All viral stories of deaths from contaminated soda cans have been investigated and rated false; no documented case exists- Excerpt
“"These messages about deaths from leptospirosis contracted via contaminated soda cans are false. No confirmed case of leptospirosis has been traced to drinking from a beverage can. The stories reference fabricated victims and nonexistent institutions." ”
- Source data from
- 2024-06-01
- Accessed
- 2026-04-24 · archived copy
- Calculation
- Snopes investigated multiple variations of the viral chain email (Hawaii stock clerk, Texas boating woman, Belgian warehouse worker) and rated all of them false. The emails reference a "study at NYCU" -- no such institution exists. Leptospirosis.org independently confirmed the stories are "entirely without substance" and have been used to spread spam and panic since 2002. This is the most cited fact-check on the topic and establishes the baseline: zero confirmed cases.
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[2] PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases — Epidemiological trends of leptospirosis in the United States, 2014-2020
Epidemiological trends of leptospirosis in the United States, 2014-2020- Statistic
1,053 US leptospirosis cases over 7 years (~150/year); 54% from Puerto Rico, 15% Hawaii; national incidence 0.48 per 100,000; zero cases attributed to beverage containers- Excerpt
“"A total of 1,053 leptospirosis case reports were received from 34 jurisdictions between 2014 and 2020, with a national incidence rate of 0.48 per 100,000 population. Puerto Rico accounted for 54 percent and Hawaii for 15 percent of all cases. Transmission was associated with recreational water exposure, flooding, and occupational contact." ”
- Source data from
- 2025-01-01
- Accessed
- 2026-04-24 · archived copy
- Calculation
- This PLOS NTD study provides the authoritative US leptospirosis epidemiology. 150 cases/year across 330M people = 0.48 per 100,000. Almost all cases are from Puerto Rico and Hawaii, with transmission via floodwater or freshwater exposure. The mainland US sees roughly 30-50 confirmed cases per year. Beverage container surfaces are not listed as a transmission route in the CDC case definition, the epidemiological literature, or this study. Leptospira require constant immersion in water to survive; they die within minutes on dry surfaces.
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[3] Journal of Medicine and Medical Genetics (Wah Medical University) — Tops of Beverage Cans Are a Potential Source of Infection: A Study of Bacterial Load Present on the Lids of Beverage Cans
Tops of Beverage Cans Are a Potential Source of Infection: A Study of Bacterial Load Present on the Lids of Beverage Cans- Statistic
Of 180 cans sampled in Pakistan: 46.4% categorized as dangerously unsanitary; bacteria included E. coli, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella, Bacillus; tap water + tissue wiping removed 76.6% of bacterial load- Excerpt
“"Of 180 cans sampled from retail shops, 46.4 percent were categorized as dangerously unsanitary, 30.9 percent as cautionary, and 22.7 percent as clean. Isolated organisms included Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, Streptococcus, Klebsiella, and Escherichia species. Cleaning with tap water and dry tissue reduced the bacterial load by 76.6 percent." ”
- Source data from
- 2022-12-01
- Accessed
- 2026-04-24 · archived copy
- Calculation
- This is the largest peer-reviewed microbiological study of can lid contamination. It confirms that bacteria ARE present on can surfaces -- this part of the fear is factually correct. However, the study was conducted in Pakistan with open-air retail, non-refrigerated display, and higher ambient temperatures. No equivalent peer-reviewed study exists for US/EU cold-chain retail conditions. The organisms found (Staph, E. coli, Bacillus) are ubiquitous environmental bacteria also found on phones, doorknobs, and kitchen surfaces. Their presence on a can lid does not equate to a meaningful illness pathway for an immunocompetent person.