Pet Primer

Pets are good home companions and can even be a child’s best friends. But did you know that Bantay and Muning can actually make kids sick?

An animal’s infection can spread to humans through direct contact with bodily discharges such as feces and urine. Pets might also carry germs that ate harmless to them but can cause illness if transmitted to their owners. Here is a list of infections that your favorite pet could carry.

Worm Infection

Kids can get a tapeworm infection from dogs and cats through accidental ingestion of a flea that carries tapeworms will latch themselves to their host’s intestines, and although an infestation is not serious and is easily treated, it can cause discomfort

Signs and symptoms:

• Diarrhea
• Cramping
• Abdominal pain
• Anal itching

Treatment:

Your doctor will prescribe anti-parasitic medicines. It also helps to have your dog or cat de-wormed and treated for flea control as well.

Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease (from the genus Leptospira) that affects human and animals. A person can be infected with the leptospirosis bacteria through bites from hamsters, mice or other infected animals, or from exposure to water, food or soil contaminated with their urine. There’s a wide range of symptoms, and in some cases, there may be no symptoms at all.

Signs and symptoms:

• High fever
• Severe headache
• Chills
• Muscle aches
• Vomiting
• Bloodshot eyes
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea

Treatment:

Antibiotics are given in the early course of the disease. Intravenous antibiotics may be required for severe symptoms. If leptospirosis is left untreated, the patient could develop kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure and respiratory disease.

Salmonella Infection

Salmonella is a group of bacteria that passes from the feces of people or animals to other people or animals. Turtles are known to have high salmonella content in their feces. A salmonella infection usually lasts four to seven (7) days and most patients recover without treatment. With severe diarrhea, though, patients need to be hospitalized (Infection may spread from the intestine to the blood stream and be carried to other body parts, causing death.)

Do not let kids handle turtles or even the aquarium water which may be contaminated with the salmonella bacteria. Salmonella usually causes gastroenteritis (inflammation of the lining membrane of the stomach) in kids.

Signs and symptoms:

• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Abdominal cramps

Treatment:

If diarrhea occurs, give supplements or fluids. However, if it lasts more than two days or the patient becomes severely dehydrated, rehydration with intravenous fluids is required. Antibiotics are not usually necessary unless the infection spreads from the intestine. It is best to consult with a doctor.