I have friends in the food industry, including some who have worked in Quality Assurance. If one of their plants was audited and the inspector found a dead and decaying mouse in a piece of equipment that comes into contact with food, that equipment would probably get tossed (or, if removable and replaceable, just the piece of the equipment), they would be shut down, and there would probably be a massive recall.
We may not have QA departments to answer to, but if the beer we give or trade away makes someone horribly ill I'm pretty sure we're liable.
After saying that it should get tossed I did add that if the the original poster is so attached to it then he should clean it up thoroughly and use himself as the sole test subject for the first few batches. I still wouldn't want to use the thing, and I'd be leery of drinking any of the first 10 batches made in it.
And yeah, there are some pretty nasty microbes that have been known to live on your skin, like listeria, but lots of food processing workers are aware of that and take measures to make sure that it doesn't wind up in your food. But I don't see what stuff like listeria living on someone's skin has to do with the mouse in the carboy.
All this, and when it comes to the food and beverage I consume, I'm a bit of a germophobe. I like my pots, pans, kettles, skillets, kitchen utensils, eating utensils, plates, bowls, glasses, cups, etc, etc, to be very clean. I expect someday it will get to the point where I wont be able to eat anything at a fast food place or legit restaurant.
