How to Prevent the Spread of Infections/Diseases from Pets to Humans.

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Hello friends, I hope you are having a great day. It is a lovely evening over here and I want to start today's post by appreciating everyone who has been supporting me on this platform, especially the @stemsocial community, it is not easy surviving in my country especially with the hardship going on at this time and I really want to say thank you so much, I appreciate it.

I have been writing about different existing animal infections for months now, and if you find the time to go through my post, you will find out different existing zoonotic and non-zoonotic diseases i.e those diseases that pets/animals can spread to humans and those that cannot be spread respectively, but today, I want to give healthy sustainable tips on how we can stay healthy around pets and even keep our pets very healthy to the point that they are not capable of spreading diseases or infections to us in the first place.


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But while we have so much to say about the infections that our pets can transfer to us as pet owners, we need to also bear in mind that humans can also transfer diseases to their pets, an example of such disease is the Mpox disease, which is a rare disease highly similar to smallpox, it is caused by mpox virus and very common in areas of Africa, but has been found in other parts of the world. For people who have it, it causes flu-like symptoms like chills and fever as well as rashes that could take weeks before they clear off, the thing about mpox is that it usually goes away on its own as a matter of fact, there hasn't been any known treatment option for it, that's the little information about Mpox that I will be sharing in this post, but while it goes away on its own in the human body, it is strongly advisable that humans should avoid pets when they have the virus as they can strongly spread it to the animal through cuddling, kissing, hugging, licking, etc, some animals that are also infected with the mpox virus can easily spread to other animals and humans inclusive.

Mpox is a good example of how humans could transfer the infection to pets, but let's check through some examples of diseases that can be spread from animals to humans, examples are;

  • Brucellosis: A bacterial disease that causes flu-like symptoms in humans. Although very rare, it can also be spread through contact with animals carrying the bacteria. Associated symptoms are; headaches, abdominal or back pain, loss of appetite, chills, weight loss, and fever, in humans, it will take around a week to 2 months before the symptoms begin to show.


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  • Campylobacteriosis: This is likewise a bacterial infection that can spread to humans through contact with the faces of an infected pet, humans with the bacteria may experience gastroenteritis symptoms such as; fever, cramping, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. The symptoms could begin to appear around 2-5 days after exposure.

  • Leptospirosis: This is also a bacterial infection spread through the urine of an animal with the bacteria, it brings about symptoms like; aches and pains, high fever, and digestive discomfort.

  • Rabies: In this case, this is a viral disease that spreads from dogs to humans, it can be passed through a bite or a scratch. Rabies is dangerous as it could cause serious problems in the central nervous system, creating flu-like symptoms such as; muscle weakness, fever, and tingling.

  • Ringworm: This is a fungal disease that can spread between animals and through contact with humans when an object carrying the fungal infection is touched, it can be spread to humans, objects like brushes, food bowl, clothes, carpets amongst others. The symptoms are, red, circular, itchy rash coming out on the skin, certain skin medications could clear out ringworm within 2-4 weeks.

  • Salmonella: Salmonella can be spread to humans creating symptoms like fever, vomiting, and diarrhea in the infected person, you can also contract it when an item that contains the germ touches your face or mouth.

Enough of the long talks my friends, let us get straight into the business of the day.

How to limit infection/disease transmission at home.

Purchase the right pet: Just before you bring a pet home, ensure you are buying the right one home, and carry out appropriate tests.

Constantly wash your hands: It may already sound like a cliche especially if you read the contents of my blog, but we cannot say this enough, washing and sanitizing our hands is a great way to prevent the disease from spreading from animals to humans. Wash your hands after you touch pet food or pet treats whether it is in a dry or canned form, if it is raw then it is even more serious.

Wash your hands as well after changing your cat litter or cleaning your fish tank because when your hands come in contact with infected feces or urine, you could get sick.

Also, wash your hands immediately after playing with your pet or touching your pet. When I say wash your hands, I am talking about using soap and water, especially an alcohol-based sanitizer, get through with areas of your hands including your thumb and your fingers.

Check your coughing pet as soon as possible: Whenever your dog begins to cough consistently, make sure to check out your dog as they may be suffering from; canine influenza, canine infectious respiratory disease, heartworm disease, asthma, and heart failure.

Protect your pet from diseases: You can do this by speaking to your vet about how to prevent infections from wildlife or other animals.

  • Do you put your pet in areas where they could get bitten by other animals?

  • Understand when your pet is showing signs of fear or anxiety.

  • Consult professionals on how to take out wildlife rodents from your home.

  • Do not allow your pet to walk freely without supervision and keep them safe from wild animals.

  • Prevent your pet from consuming contaminated water, rotten food, or soils containing bacteria, do this by ensuring that your garbage is tightly covered, and do not feed your pet raw meat.

  • Whenever your pet has been given antibiotics to take, make sure they finish it.

Avoid bites and scratches from your pet: While you play with your pet, make sure they do not accidentally scratch or bite you in a way of being protective. These scratches or bites may contain organisms causing illnesses especially when they penetrate the skin or come in contact with the mucous membrane of the eyes, nose, and of mouth.

Take your pet for constant check-ups and vaccinations.

There are people whose immune systems are weak and they are at higher risk of getting diseases from animals and humans, children who are younger than 5, and adults older than 65. Pregnant women also stand a chance of getting certain animal-related diseases.
Always teach your pet how to act responsibly around pets and how to stay safe too.

References.

https://www.healthline.com/health/humans-catching-from-dogs#healthy-pets-healthy-people

https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/mpox/prevention/pets-in-homes.html

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/simple-steps-for-avoiding-infections-from-dogs-and-cats-201204064577

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22371-monkeypox

https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/keeping-pets-and-people-healthy/how.html

https://www.aaha.org/your-pet/pet-owner-education/aaha-guidelines-for-pet-owners/infection-control-prevention-and-biosecurity/



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7 comments
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Most of infectious diseases on dogs are zoonotic especially rabies which can also be transmitted to man.Hence the need to protect some of these diseases.

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While pets are the closest to us, several animal diseases are zoonotic. I always advise people to wash their hands after playing with pets but you know it can be a bit difficult as we are always around our pets at home and cannot keep washing our hands every time. So it is important that we care for our pets properly.

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There are times when people will get zoonotic diseases without knowing that their pets had been exposed to these diseases. Taking proper caution is good for both the health of the human and that of the pet.

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You're absolutely right that zoonotic diseases can be transmitted from animals to humans without our knowledge, so taking proper precautions to protect both ourselves and our pets is important. Coming in contact with an infected animal's saliva, urine, or feces can lead to some zoonotic diseases, such as rabies and leptospirosis, and we often do not know these animals have these diseases sometimes. Ringworm and salmonella, can be contacted directly by coming in contact with an infected animal's skin or fur maybe when playing with them. It's important to practice good hygiene and sanitation to prevent the transmission of these zoonotic infections and diseases. Use clean water to wash hands thoroughly after handling pets, as well as clean and disinfect surfaces where animal wastes are found. This will help maintain a hygienic environment for both humans and animal.

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Pets of al kinds are liable to transferring illnesses to humans, but I usually ask which is more prone to diseases. A friend of mine doesn't keep cats because she believes it is quick to get sick.

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It's no lie that pets of all kinds can potentially transfer illnesses to humans, and some types of pets may be more prone to certain diseases than others. Cats are known to carry Bartonella and Salmonella, which can cause illness in humans compared to other pets, but these bacteria are relatively rare, so most cats are healthy and do not pose risk to humans.

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