Animal Disease Threat

There are many animal diseases that can make us very sick, if not threaten our lives. We can easily pick up many dangerous, life-threatening animal diseases right in our own backyard, even in our homes and of course, from public places. If we are not vigilant, we can get infected with animal diseases from the very pets we know, we care and we love.

Dangerous organisms that can transmit animal diseases are called zoonosis. According to the PAHO publication, any disease and/or infection which is naturally “transmissible from vertebrate animals to man” is classified as a zoonosis.

Here are the major examples of Deadly Animal Diseases or zoonosis that can threaten our health:

Bacteria

Every year millions of people get sick because of food borne zoonoses such as Salmonellosis and Campylobacteriosis which cause fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, malaise and nausea. Other bacterial zoonoses are: anthrax, brucellosis, E. coli, leptospirosis, plague, shigellosis and tularaemia.

Parasites

Cysticercosis/Taeniasis caused by a parasite which lives in swine and can cause epilepsy, headache and many other symptoms. In Latin America for example, 100 out of 100,000 inhabitants suffer from this disease (estimation). Other parasitical zoonoses are echinococcosis/hydatidosis, toxoplasmosis and trematodosis.

Elderly people are most vulnerable to to zoonosis. They usually pick them up from a household pet. People infected by the toxoplasma parasite will suffer from swollen glands and muscle aches.

Worms live inside the intestines of most animals. When these animals excrete, the worms and its eggs are also expelled from infected animals. These worm-infested feces will subsequently infect the gardens and homes.

The most common worms transmitted this way are the Roundworm and the Hookworm. There was a case of a person who was exposed to Roundworm larvae and subsequently got blinded as the roundworm had damaged the retina of that person’s eye. The Hookworm larvae can inflict painful inflamation as it crawls just below a person’s skin surface.

Ringworm, a skin and scalp disease, is caused by fungi. People get it by touching an infected animal. Ringworm can infect cats, dogs, horses and other animals. In humans, ringworm may produce ring-shaped, reddish, itchy rash.

Viruses

Rabies which is a viral disease of carnivores and bats mainly transmissible to humans by bites. Almost all persons severely exposed to rabid animals will die if not treated. An estimated number of 55,000 persons, mainly children, die of rabies in the world every year. Dogs are responsible for most human deaths from rabies. Other viral zoonoses are avian influenza (bird flu), crimean-congo haemorrhagic fever, ebola and rift valley fever.

If you are bitten by a rabid animal, immediately wash the wound with soap and water, let the wound bleed, and get medical help at once.

Cat-Scratch Disease (CSD) may cause fever, fatigue, headache and swollen lymph glands. If you are bitten or scratched, wash the area immediately with soap and running water.

You can also get Animal Diseases from other pets:

Psittacosis or “parrot fever” from parakeets and cockatoos.

Salmonellosis or Salmonella bacterium from contaminated food and pets particularly reptiles, baby chicks and ducklings.

Mycobacterium, an infectious germ which can infect you - through cuts and scrapes on your hands and feet - when you come into contact with fish and aquarium water.

How to Avoid Getting Infected by Animal Diseases:

1. Keeping pet areas clean with a strong disinfectant daily
2. Avoid “rough play” with your pet as it could lead to scratches on your skin
3. Keep a tight leash on over-friendly pets which may accidentally scratch or nip other people especially children
4. Do not allow pets to lick your open wounds
5. Wear rubber gloves when handling pet wastes
6. Pick up pet wastes when you take pets for a walk
7. Wash hands immediately and thoroughly with running water and soap (whenever you come into contact with pets and their wastes).
8. Ensure your pets are parasite and disease free by taking them to the vet regularly. Ticks and fleas are major carriers of disease.
9. Areas where pets come into contact e.g. furniture, beds and carpets should be cleaned and disinfected regularly and thoroughly.
10. If possible, keep pets away from kitchen and dining areas where food are laid out. Do not touch or feed your pet while you are eating. Pets have a habit of licking their fur and other parts to keep themselves clean. The parasites in your pet’s mouths may not affect them, but they can be disastrous to humans.
11. Some people are allergic to pet dander. So the whole house should be vacuumed cleaned thoroughly - meaning every nook and cranny where pet dander can accumulate for example walls and ledges. Elderly people are susceptable to respiratory complications if pet dander gets into their respiratory system e.g. the lungs. Being a pet owner carries a heavy responsibility. Pet owners must not only take good care of their pet(s) but also ensure that people living in the household and in the community are safe from the threat of animal disease. Pets are not toys. Pets are living things with all of the attendant problems that come with living things.
12. Take natural health supplements that can kill or expel parasites in your body like Unicity’s highly effective Paraway Plus™. Your pets may benefit from Paraway Plus™ too.

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