The 4 WORST Diseases You Can Catch From Animals!

We all love animals, be they our sweet pets and companions or the ones we find roaming free in the wild. Nature has a lot to offer, and most of us truly appreciate this, but did you know that, as adorable as they are, animals are walking germ factories?

Yeah, all animals, even your beloved pets, might be carrying some seriously nasty diseases that can actually start a new pandemic. We know that this sounds terrifying, but you need to be aware of all this because this is the most effective way to stay safe.

From mild infections to life-threatening illnesses, animals can spread bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi to humans, sometimes with devastating consequences. According to the CDC, over 60% of known infectious diseases in humans come from animals, and 75% of new diseases have jumped from animals to people. These are some big numbers that show us how serious the situation is!

So, before you sleep with your pet or take a photo with a wild monkey, you better be reading this. You might just rethink how close you get to your animal friends!

Rabies

This is for sure one of the most terrifying diseases that exist, and you can catch it from animals. The biggest problem is that once the symptoms appear, you can’t do much because it’s fatal. There is no way back!

Early symptoms like fever and headache quickly transform into delirium, hallucinations, and violent behavior, turning a deadly infection into something straight out of a horror movie.

Rabies is rare in the US, and pet vaccination plays a huge role here. But wild animals such as bats, skunks, and foxes still carry this disease. The good news? Rabies is preventable if you go to the hospital as soon as you get bitten. This should happen before the symptoms start, and you will be ok.

If you want to be cautious, always avoid wild animals, and this applies the most to the areas where rabies is common. If you ever see a dog acting aggressively, keep your distance.

Cat scratch disease

You sure do love your cat, but did you know they can kill you? That playful scratch or accidental bite might seem harmless, but it could leave you with cat scratch disease (CSD). This is caused by the Bartonella henselae. Most people recover without knowing anything happened in their bodies, but others are not so lucky.

Fleas are primarily responsible for the spread of cat scratch disease from one cat to another. Also, kittens are the most dangerous because they are generally the ones carrying the bacteria, and they play rough. This means a kitten can bite you, and it can give you the disease.

What symptoms should you be looking for? Well, if a cat scratched you recently and you notice swollen lymph nodes, fever, headaches, appetite loss, and even pus-filled bumps near the scratch site, then it is clear that it’s time to visit the doctor. A simple blood test can confirm the infection, and while antibiotics may help, most cases clear up on their own.

Bubonic plague

Ok, hear us out because this is not just a horror story from medieval times. It is true that bubonic plague is no longer wiping out half of Europe, but this is a disease that still exists, and this is why you need to be careful.

The plague is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, and it still infects people every year. And guess what? Animals are often to blame. Rodents, cats, dogs, and even squirrels can carry the bacteria, and they spread it through contaminated tissue or liquids.

The thing is that the true villains of the story are fleas. They are the ones that generally pick up the bacteria from infected animals and then easily spread it to humans. A single bite can do that, and in rare cases, cough droplets can spread this illness.

Fever, chills, and weakness are the initial symptoms, but the most significant warning sign is the painfully swollen lymph nodes. This is called buboes, and this is also what gives this disease its name. Left untreated, the disease can be deadly, but thankfully, modern antibiotics can cure it if caught early.

Mad cow disease

Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is a terrifying disease that seems to be out of a sci-fi horror movie. It is named like that because it generally affects the brain of the cow, but sometimes, humans can also catch this disease, and the symptoms and effects are terrible.

Prions are a type of disordered protein, and they are the ones that cause this disease. They turn normal proteins into twisted, malfunctioning versions of themselves, and this leads to severe neurological problems.

Humans can develop the terrifying Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) by consuming infected beef products. What makes this so scary is that it causes rapid dementia, muscle tremors, and loss of coordination, and even worse, these symptoms get worse incredibly quickly.

Hopefully, mad cow disease is very rare, and the strict regulations regarding cattle feed drastically reduce the number of cows that are infected.

You should also read this: 10 States Most at Risk for Natural Disasters 

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