Is my families or my health at risk from living with the animals?

Not directly, however, both rats and possums carry parasites such as fleas, ticks & bird lice. Rats are well-known carriers of over 70 diseases, most of which are transferred through the urine and faeces or parasite bites i.e. fleas, ticks. Whilst serious illness from animals is rare, some of the listed issues & diseases that rats in particular are known to cause or carry and transfer range from annoying (I.E. sleep interruption) to very harmful and in some instances FATAL to humans (i.e. leptospirosis which has an approximate death rate of 50% in humans).