About Carolina

Name: Carolina (CAH-RO-LEE-NAH)
Sex: Female
Date of birth: 5th September 2016
Job title: Tuberculosis  (TB) Detection Rat
Birthplace: Morogoro, Tanzania
Current Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Length: 64 cm
Weight: 1.01 kg
Favourite food: Watermelon
Personality: Cheeky and dedicated

Adopt Carolina

CAROLINA IN THE FIELD

Background

Carolina is one of our most inspiring HeroRATs and is very dedicated to her work. She took on the role of our adoption HeroRAT in December 2018 from her colleague Chewa. She is just as talented at sniffing out tuberculosis and is a wonder to watch moving from hole to hole in the search of tuberculosis.

Day in the life

Every afternoon, this little specialist gets up, excited to begin her day. In a daily 20-minute session, she quickly searches 100 human sputum samples for TB. She does this by smelling each sample and when she has found TB, she holds her nose over the hole for 3 seconds to ket her handlers know.

The TB threat

TB is contagious and airborne. An untreated tuberculosis patient can infect up to 15 other people a year. In 2022, 10.6 million people worldwide were infected with TB and 1.3 million died. The disease is largely curable, but first it must be diagnosed which can prove challenging. That's where Carolina comes in.

TOP 5 FACTS

1. Tuberculosis (TB) ranks as the world’s leading cause of death from an infectious disease after COVID-19, claiming 1.4 million lives worldwide in 2022.

2. For every additional patient diagnosed and placed on TB treatment, HeroRATs like Carolina are helping stop the spread of TB to up to 15 people per year.

3. A TB detection rat can screen 100 sputum samples for TB in as little as 20 minutes. This would typically take a lab technician up to 4 days using conventional microscopy. Any suspect samples are then re-checked using WHO-endorsed confirmation tests.

4. Carolina and the other HeroRATs have helped raise detection rates in our partner clinics by 40%.

5. In sub-Saharan Africa, around half of the TB patients remain undiagnosed or untreated and globally this number was 3.1 million in 2022. These ‘missed’ TB-positive patients usually include the most vulnerable and those without proper access to care.

CAROLINA’S IMPACT LAST MONTH

TB Samples Sniffed

TBC

Accuracy (Known Samples)

TBC

Additional Samples Indicated

TBC

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL RECEIVE

Welcome Pack

A digital Welcome Pack stacked full of pictures, facts, figures, and quotes that will tell you everything you need to know.

Adoption Certificate

A digital certificate of adoption with your name on it.

Monthly Impact Updates

Monthly updates direct to your email inbox to keep you up to date with the latest news and information from the field.

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HERORAT ADOPTIONS?

The quickest way to find to the answer to your question is to take take a look at our FAQ page. If you still need help, send us a message here and we’ll get back to you right away. Alternatively, you can email herorats@apopo.org