How Much Do You Know About Pet Diseases?
Dogs and cats and birds and hamsters. Snakes and guinea pigs and turtles. The family pet can be a source of joy and companionship, no matter what kind of animal it is. But sometimes your favorite animal can be a source of illness. Learn more about pets and disease by taking this quiz.
5. When your child cuddles the family cat or dog, and the pet has a spot on its skin, what infection is your child most likely to get?
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Despite its name, ringworm is not caused by a worm. It is a fungal infection that causes irritation to the scalp or skin. This makes the skin red or scaly. On the scalp, it can cause a bald patch of scaly skin. On the skin, it often appears as a ring-shaped rash. The type of ringworm passed on from animals makes up only a small percentage of ringworm cases in people. The rest are caused by a fungus that's passed from one child or adult to another through contaminated combs, brushes, hats, hair accessories, pillows, and bath towels. For either type of ringworm, the treatment is a skin cream or oral medicine that kills the fungus.
9. "Newly emerging" diseases that affect people include Ebola, Rift Valley fever, West Nile encephalitis, and hantavirus. All of these are carried either by an animal or by an insect that has picked up a bacteria or virus from an animal. In the U.S., which animal most commonly carries hantavirus?
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Hantavirus was first discovered in the desert Southwest, when it caused unexplained deaths from pulmonary failure. The CDC found that mice in the area carried hantavirus. In the U.S., hantavirus is carried by the deer mouse, white-footed mouse, and cotton rat. The virus is found in mice urine, droppings, and saliva, which dries and mixes with dust. The virus can be passed on through the air when a homeowner does "spring cleaning." This disturbs the dust containing the virus. A person can breathe in the dust and virus. The virus can cause a severe type of pneumonia and lung failure.
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