Contents:
- Medical Video: Animal Diseases and Your Health - What You Need To Know
- 1. Ringworm (ringworm)
- How to overcome
- How to prevent it
- 2. Lyme disease
- How to overcome
- How to prevent it
- 3. Tapeworms
- How to overcome
- How to prevent it
- 4. Rabies
- How to overcome
- How to prevent it
- 5. Hookworms and roundworms
- How to overcome
- How to prevent it
- 6. Toxo
- How to overcome
- How to prevent it
- 7. Psittacosis
- How to overcome
- How to prevent it
Medical Video: Animal Diseases and Your Health - What You Need To Know
You might have a pet at home. But have your animals been proven free of disease? There are various diseases that can be transmitted by pets that are very dangerous to human health, some even can affect the disability of the baby in the womb. Therefore, let's look at various diseases that are transmitted by pets and how to overcome them.
1. Ringworm (ringworm)
Young dogs and cats transmit this disease more often than older people. Ringworm is caused by a fungus that makes the skin scaly, and causes a reddish circular rash on the skin or on a patch of hairless scalp. Some adult pets, usually cats, rarely or never show symptoms of ringworm. Not only spreads through touch on infected animals and through blankets or animal towels, ringworm also passes through the soil they have used to defecate.
How to overcome
If you have ringworm, you can use an anti-fungal topical ointment, such as those containing miconazole. However, in more serious cases, the doctor will prescribe an oral anti-fungal drug.
How to prevent it
Greg Nelson, DMV, a diplomat from the American Board of Veterinary Associates at Valley Stream, New York, said that the best thing to do to prevent ringworm infection is to immediately wash your hands after caressing a pet. Then, wear gloves when gardening.
2. Lyme disease
Pets cannot transmit Lyme to you directly. But you can get it from Lyme-infested dogs or cats. When the lice transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease to you, the symptoms that will arise are fever, a red rash in a location affected by lice, headaches, muscle aches, or joint pain. If left untreated, Lyme will turn into a chronic condition over time which causes inflammation of the nerves and heart, mental changes, and pain.
How to overcome
Drive away fleas as fast as you can to reduce the chance of infection. Dispose of fleas by wrapping them with tissue, then placing them in a plastic bag. Never destroy fleas, because this can release bacteria into the air. You can use antibiotics (such as amoxicillin and tetracycline) for 10-12 days.
How to prevent it
Avoid areas filled with fleas, especially in summer. Use various flea prevention in your animal and apply nest antidote with DEET / diethyl-meta-toluamide (insect repellent active ingredient). Wear light clothing that covers your feet and hands while hiking.
3. Tapeworms
Most tapeworm infections in humans arise from consumption of contaminated meat. However, children can get tapeworm parasites from cats and dogs that have swallowed fleas infected with tapeworm larvae. Tapeworm segments can appear in the stool or around the anal area in pets or humans. This section will look a bit like rice grains.
How to overcome
You can use anti-worm medicines, or if symptoms get worse such as digestive tract disorders and weight loss, you will most likely have to take oral medications.
How to prevent it
Take care of your pet from fleas and not even bite your nails, because humans can accidentally catch fleas so that fleas stick to your nails.
4. Rabies
Usually, this frightening disease is found in infected wild animals such as raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes. With saliva, rabies can be transmitted to your dog when he goes in and out of the struggles of infected animals. If your dog is bitten by an infected animal, he can get rabies. You can also get rabies if an infected animal bites you.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), symptoms of rabies may be very similar to the flu, which is not feeling well, fever, or headache. These symptoms can last for days. When a person has rabies, he can experience delirium, abnormal behavior, hallucinations, and insomnia. The acute period of the disease usually ends after 2-10 days. Very few people can survive this disease.
How to overcome
If you believe that you have been bitten by a rabid animal, seek medical help immediately. Your doctor will probably do a series of injections after exposure to protect you from the virus. Contact your veterinarian immediately if your pet has rabies.
How to prevent it
Prevention of this disease includes the administration of both passive antibodies, namely through human immunoglobulin injections and rabies vaccine injections, to you and your family. Don't forget, keep your pets away from wild animals.
5. Hookworms and roundworms
Most puppies or kittens are born with roundworms, which is why they must be routinely examined and treated. Worm eggs can last about a month in a humid environment such as sand or soil which is used by animals to defecate. If you hold infected sand and then you don't wash your hands, you can swallow the eggs.
Hookworms in dogs and cats are usually caused by parasites. A person can become infected if hookworm larvae on contaminated soil penetrate the skin. This is the logic behind the prohibition on carrying dogs on the beach. Hookworm infections can cause painful and itchy skin infections, or stomach symptoms. Roundworm infections sometimes occur without symptoms, but can damage the nerves or eyes of some people.
How to overcome
Diseases caused by roundworms can be treated with anti-parasitic drugs such as albendazole or mebendazole. Hookworm infections usually heal on their own, or with anti-parasitic treatment.
How to prevent it
Don't walk barefoot or garden empty-handed. Teach children to always wash their hands after touching a dog or cat. Bring your pet to the vet for checking.
6. Toxo
Toxo is a common disease transferred from cats to humans. Cats that are most often infected are cats that consume a lot of raw food. This disease will be dangerous when a woman is infected before and after pregnancy, because it will affect the development and vision in children.
Toxo is caused by protozoan organisms that can cause flu-like symptoms in some people. You will most likely get toxo from eating meat or from contact with animal waste when gardening. But you can also get it from contaminated cat feces.
How to overcome
You can recover with medications such as pyrimethamine, sulfadiazine, and folinic acid.
How to prevent it
Avoid direct contact with kitty litter or with areas that might be contaminated with cat feces. Wash hands after contact with dirt. Keep your fingers in the room to reduce the risk of infection. Avoid feeding raw or undercooked meat cats.
7. Psittacosis
This is a bacterial infection that you can get from breathing near dry dirt or in respiratory tract fluids from infected birds (parrots, parakeets, macaws, and cockatoos). It may be difficult to detect this infection in birds, because they often do not have any symptoms, so prevention will also be more difficult.
The symptoms you will get are fever, chills, muscle aches, and dry cough.
How to overcome
Doctors will usually give you antibiotics such as tetracycline or doxycycline.
How to prevent it
Be careful when cleaning a bird cage so you don't fly any dirt. If you clean a non-ventilated area, you can use a mask. The CDC recommends that you use gloves when handling objects contaminated with bird droppings.
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