Cat Infections That Can Spread To Humans
Many cat infections come from bites and scratches, but many don’t even need a pinch. In fact, there are several diseases that cats can give you. Knowing which cat infections can be transmitted to humans is essential to prevent them and act in case of contracting them.
The general name for diseases that are transmitted from animals to people who have close contact with them or with their feces is called zoonoses. In reality, there are few diseases that animals suffer and that can be spread to humans, but just because they are few does not mean that they cannot be important.
Diseases like feline AIDS, distemper, flu, colds, and hookworms cannot be transmitted from pets to people. However, others, such as toxoplasmosis, toxocariasis or cat scratch disease, among others, can affect humans.
Cat infections to watch out for
Most cat infections that people can catch occur through bites, scratches, or direct contact with the animal or its feces. Cat bites and scratches can transmit germs from the cat’s mouth to the skin and this can cause an infection, which can be serious.
Generally, immediate cleaning of the injured area with soap and water will minimize the risk of infection, but if swelling and inflammation occur it is best to consult a doctor.
Rage
This fatal viral infection affects the brain and spinal cord, causing irritation and inflammation. What usually happens is that they themselves have been infected by an animal, usually a wild one, that carries the virus in its saliva. This virus spreads mainly through bites.
This disease, although found more often in dogs than cats, can also spread when rabid cats bite humans. Once symptoms appear, rabies is always fatal to both animals and humans.
Symptoms of rabies can take 20 to 60 days to manifest. Symptoms vary from person to person, but one in five rabies develops increasing paralysis. Symptoms often appear as flu, sore throat, headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Depression, restlessness, and insomnia often mark the beginning of rabies symptoms as well.
Salmonella
Salmonella bacteria are found in the intestines and feces of humans and animals, as well as in many food products, especially raw meat. The salmonella bacteria can cause food poisoning, which in turn leads to diarrhea and vomiting.
People can become infected with salmonella from direct contact with their pets or their feces. Proper hand washing is essential after handling pets, cleaning animal cages, or coming into contact with feces. The symptoms of salmonella poisoning are headaches, fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps.
Tub
Ringworm is a skin disease caused by a fungus. It is also known as dermatophytosis. Causes circular lesions under the skin. Ringworm is an infection in the dead layer of the skin, hair, and nails. It can be easily transmitted between pets and people through touch.
The most common sign of ringworm is a painful, itchy rash. Sometimes the rash can become scaly and blisters can form. Ringworm can usually affect the feet, groin, scalp, and nails. There is also a form of ringworm called ringworm that can develop anywhere on the skin.
Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by a single-cell parasite, toxoplasma gondii , which can only reproduce in the cells that line the intestines of cats. While most pets can carry this disease, only cats shed the eggs that cause this infection. Cats contract it by eating rodents or insects, or by being in contact with other infected felines or their feces.
Toxoplasmosis is transmitted to humans when they do not wash their hands after coming into contact with cat feces. It can also be spread by eating unwashed fruits and vegetables grown in soil contaminated by cat feces. Eating raw or undercooked meat also exposes people to the inactive form of the parasite.
If a person has acquired toxoplasmosis after birth, there are almost never symptoms. In babies, mild symptoms may appear shortly after birth, but almost always years later. Symptoms vary greatly, depending on the type of toxoplasmosis a person has become infected with.
Possible symptoms include fever, a general feeling of being unwell, and swollen lymph nodes. If a person’s immune system has been compromised in any way, toxoplasmosis can lead to life-threatening brain infections.
Cat-scratch disease
Cat scratch disease is an infection that occurs in the area where a cat scratch occurs. This is caused by the bacteria Bartonella henselae . Kittens, whose claws are especially sharp, often transmit this infection, even through a minor scratch. This type of bacteria infects the walls of blood vessels in humans, while cats show no symptoms.
When this disease occurs, a red blister may develop around the scratch. Some common symptoms of cat scratch disease are swollen lymph nodes, fever, and headaches, as well as decreased appetite in some cases.
In most people, these symptoms will go away, but it may take two to five months to do so. A blood test can reveal antibodies to the bacteria that cause this infection.
Pain relievers, lymph node drainage, and sometimes antibiotics are methods of fighting this disease. Most people make a full recovery.
Campylobacter infection
This bacteria causes intestinal infections and can be easily transferred from cats to humans. This happens when people do not wash their hands properly after coming into contact with animal feces, especially with diarrhea.
These bacteria are also found in undercooked meat and poultry, untreated water, and unpasteurized milk, so animal feces are not the only source of these infection-causing bacteria.
Some of the symptoms of Campylobacter infection are abdominal cramps and pain, diarrhea, which is sometimes bloody, nausea and vomiting, as well as fever.
Toxocariasis
Toxocariasis or visceral larval migration syndrome is an infection caused by parasitic nematode worms. Because man is not the final host for the worm, the larvae are unable to mature in it, causing them to migrate erratically throughout the body causing inflammatory reactions.
The type of worm found in cats is called Toxocara cati . Human roundworm infestation is common, especially in developing countries, where sanitation is often poor and access to clean drinking water is limited.
The causes of pinworm infection follow the pattern of most worm infestations. The worm’s eggs are discharged in the feces of an animal or human and can be ingested directly if contaminated hands touch the mouth. The eggs hatch in the intestine and larvae are released that can penetrate the intestinal wall, enter the bloodstream, and spread throughout the body.
Symptoms vary depending on the person’s age, intensity of exposure, and sensitivity to larvae. These are varied and include pneumonia, cough, fever, skin rash, and an enlarged liver.
