According to research, pet cats can reduce people’s stress and anxiety, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and improve people’s sense of well-being and quality of life. At the same time, the bacteria in cat hair and cat mouth can help enhance human immunity and reduce the risk of allergies. But cats can also carry some infectious diseases, which may be transmitted to humans. It is said that there are six common cat infectious diseases, let’s understand together:
1. Ringworm
Ringworm caused by fungi, ringworm generally has round or oval ringworm spots, and hair loss around the skin. If a cat suffers from tinea felis, it may be infected when the owner takes care of it, especially people with low immunity and allergies are more likely to be infected, so the living environment is very important.
2. Salmonella infection
Cats can get salmonella from eating raw meat or from wild animals that carry the bacteria. When this disease occurs, cats can transmit it to humans, and the way of transmission is feces. The elderly and young children are more susceptible to salmonella in cats. But as long as the family hygiene is done well, generally there will be no problem.
3. Parasitic infection
There are many types of parasites that cats can infect. Such as fleas outside the body; tapeworms inside the body. Tapeworms can be transmitted to people through feces. Therefore, it is very necessary to wash hands frequently, vaccinate cats regularly, deworm internally and externally, and keep yourself and the surrounding environment hygienic.
4. Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis is a disease most feared by cat families. Toxoplasma is a parasite that is transmitted through cat feces. Infection with toxoplasmosis during pregnancy may cause serious birth defects to the baby in the womb, so many cats will be abandoned by their owners at this time, and they are well aware of the great impact of toxoplasma. Therefore, usually do not feed cats raw food, use sand shovel to shovel cat feces, do not directly touch feces with hands, or wear gloves, wash hands in time after shoveling feces, and deworm cats on time, which can effectively avoid infection.
5. Cat scratch disease
Cat scratch disease, also known as cat scratch fever, is very rare. The pathogen that causes cat scratch disease is called Bartonella. It is said that about 10% of pet cats or 33% of stray cats carry this Bartonella in their blood. People usually contract the disease after being bitten by a cat or having close contact with a cat. So when you decide to bring your cat home, you must first take it to the pet hospital for a detailed examination. Make sure they are healthy before taking them home.
6. Rabies
Rabies is an acute infectious disease caused by rabies virus. The main route of transmission is through body fluids, such as being bitten or scratched by an infected cat or dog. The incubation period is generally 20 to 90 days.
Do I need to be vaccinated against rabies after being bitten by a cat?
A friend saw a cute kitten in the yard and picked it up. Unexpectedly, the cat turned around and bit his friend’s arm. The family was very nervous and took her to the hospital for rabies vaccination. She was scratched by the cat Whether to get rabies vaccine after being bitten is a doubt in many people’s minds. A family of friends consulted Dr. Li from the Department of Infectious Diseases on this issue.
Dr. Li said that cats have bacteria in their teeth and claws, which can easily infect wounds. Most mammals can be infected with rabies virus. Generally, the animals that transmit rabies are mainly dogs, which are caused by the bite of a sick dog. The rate of rabies transmitted by cat bites is only about 3%. After being scratched by a cat, if the wound has obvious bleeding or ulceration, it is necessary to get a rabies vaccine. It is best to get the rabies vaccine within 2 hours of being scratched by a cat, so that the effect is the best. Of course, it is not that the vaccination is ineffective for more than 24 hours. As long as the vaccine is vaccinated before the onset, the onset can be prevented. It’s just that the earlier the vaccination time, the higher the success rate of prevention.
However, after being scratched by a cat, it is necessary to wash the wound as soon as possible. You can use soapy water or other weak alkaline disinfectant to rinse, because the rabies virus is not resistant to alkali, the effect of alkaline disinfectant is better. In the absence of alkaline disinfectant or soapy water, clean water, mineral water, or tap water can also be used to rinse the wound with a certain pressure at an angle to flush out animal saliva and other dirt in the wound, which can reduce the risk of infection. Statistics have found that carefully washing the wound for more than 15 minutes can reduce the risk of rabies infection by 80%. In addition, after the vaccination, you should not eat too spicy food.
Of course, cats in a healthy state will not transmit rabies. The cats raised at home are healthy and healthy, even if they are accidentally scratched by it, there is no need to be too nervous. The cat that scratched my friend was a cat that ran outside to the yard. It is likely to be a wild cat. It has not been immunized against the epidemic, and the wound was bitten and bleeding. Therefore, it is very correct to go to the hospital for timely treatment. It also reminds us that it is better for wild cats to be careful not to touch them.
The “ten-day observation method” is one of the methods recommended by the World Health Organization for the prevention and treatment of rabies. By observing whether the wounded dog or cat becomes ill and dies within ten days after the wounding, if the wounded dog or cat is still healthy ten days later, it can be judged The bitten person was not infected with rabies.
