What diseases can cats transmit to humans: ringworm will seem like an innocent prank
Close contact with animals is not always safe for human health. Adults often scare children with ringworm or worms transmitted by cats.
At the same time, there are diseases against which lichen may seem like an innocent prank. This is what American scientists warn about.
Experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have concluded that cats may be carriers of the dangerous fungus sporotrichosis.
The fungal disease is considered dangerous and is transmitted to humans from cats. This disease was first reported in Brazil in the 1980s, and since then the disease has spread to neighboring countries and cases of infection have been registered in Chile, Argentina, and the UK.
Cases of infection are described in the pages of the publication Medical Mycology Case Reports.
Veterinarians prescribed the drug Itraconazole to the infected animal, which the family picked up on the street. The cat felt better, but died 6 months later, and the veterinarians did not determine the cause of death.
Four months after the visit to the veterinary clinic, symptoms of infection were also found in the owners of the deceased cat. It is believed that the disease was transmitted by a bite. The patients are under observation.
In addition to owners, veterinarians and dogs are also at risk of infection. The fungus is transmitted through bites, scratches, skin contact, and by inhaling spores.
Mostly, a skin infection develops, but there are known cases of bone and joint diseases and meningeal diseases that are dangerous to human health.
