Zoonotic survey

[sofficat]

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I was just curious as to how many people have caught things from work/animals- ringworm, hookworms, any other parasites or even diseases. I recently got ringworm and it sucks Any suggestions, stories or precautions would be great!

 

[twosoakers]

a vet i worked with ended up with sarcoptic mange after carrying a dog in short-sleeved scrubs.

 

[RemyRipper315]

Ringworm here.. from a cat!! My cat.. I got a barn kitten from one of the other vet assistants. He had ringworm, and I got it from him! So did my grandma.

 

[4theanimals]

a vet i worked with ended up with sarcoptic mange after carrying a dog in short-sleeved scrubs.

Can you say transient pediculosis? I learned that in parasitology and I just love the way it rolls off the tongue. 😛 It really seems that these bugs seem to have a real liking for some people and not others. We have one girl at the shelter who always gets ring worm and scabies, etc. I have held cats who it ended up had ringworm and never had a problem. And plenty of dogs with scabies. Knock on wood, I've never been infected.

The big precaution is I always wash my hands when I am done with an animal. And when I do think I've handled scabies, etc. I give my arms a good scrub. Thankfully, with experience you learn what to look for and prevent exposure.

 

[pressmom]

Shakes body in disgust.

Anyway, I'm afraid I have an intestinal parasite since (overshare coming up) I've had mild diarrhea for about a month. Should I go to the doctor?

 

[VelcroSky]

Should I go to the doctor?

Sounds like a good plan to me.

 

[bubbles525]

Tips: find a good tea tree oil soap, and shampoo. Use them after a particularly nasty day at work. Tea tree oil is a natural antimicrobial.
Use feminine itch cream on ring worm when you first get it, the cream kills the nasty stuff 😀

I personally have never gotten anything but scratches from work, but plenty of people I work with have.

 

[Bill59]

Anyway, I'm afraid I have an intestinal parasite since (overshare coming up) I've had mild diarrhea for about a month. Should I go to the doctor?

Not until you've quacked on yourself for a few weeks, like any self-respeting veterinarian would do.🙂

 

[bakaduin]

I try to wash my hands after every animal but I guess I didnt do a great job one day and the result was some Giardia! Took some Furoxone and and it went away but man that is one nasty parasite!

 

[critterfixer]

I've been battling an extremely persistant bacterial conjunctivitis I picked up from a boxer we did a cherry eye surgery on three months ago! I've had to throw away a pair of eyeglasses, because even though I disinfected them, every time I put them back on, it came back.

 

[silverelf]

I've never gotten anything, but a TON of my friends have gotten Crypto from our teaching cows at undergrad.

 

[Hollycozza]

I've been battling an extremely persistant bacterial conjunctivitis I picked up from a boxer we did a cherry eye surgery on three months ago! I've had to throw away a pair of eyeglasses, because even though I disinfected them, every time I put them back on, it came back.

YIKES!

I don't think I've really caught anything but here are some that I fear:

1. Hydatids: do you guys have hydatids? Terrifying...

2. Leptospirosis: just b/c I am planning to work with cows so it is a bit likely

3. Nasty bat diseases eg Lyssavirus or Hendra. Yuk...

hmm don't know what else but I bet there's others on my list.........😱

 

[AuburnPreVet]

Not until you've quacked on yourself for a few weeks, like any self-respeting veterinarian would do.🙂

So true...for all of the vet's I've worked for.

 

[chris03333]

So true. 🙂

Not for me. I will leave the human stuff to the MD people thanks😉

 

[nastrainor]

Cryptosporidium and campylobacter both.👎 Definately washing hands, and always keeping your mouth closed very very tightly when running a chute/palpating/AI ing.

 

[Cheska]

It is good to hear that I am not alone in picking up zoonotic stuff at work.

My major one was ringworm while I was a relief tech at a shelter. I started noticing it on myself, then a few days later my poor cat started getting it on his ears! I gave it to my cat!!! We had a great time sharing the tube of Lamisil for 6 weeks- misery loves company I guess.

Of course working at a zoo sounds like fun (and ususally is), but when hosing out exhibits you are bound to run into digestive upsets sooner or later. Campylobacter was really fun. 🙄

 

[critterfixer]

Cryptosporidium and campylobacter both.👎 Definately washing hands, and always keeping your mouth closed very very tightly when running a chute/palpating/AI ing.

You know, when I learned how to palpate and AI in undergrad at our school farm, no one mentioned that this was even a possibility! I guess I was lucky in that I didn't catch anything.

 

[clawsbeatskin]

I used to be an aquarist at an aquarium, and one of my colleagues became ill with vibriosis and a nasty mycobacterial infection. After that, she always wore gloves when performing water changes 😀

Also, I know of several cases in the zoo industry involving caretakers winding up with positive tuberculosis tests (eek!) 😱

 

[Cheska]

Also, I know of several cases in the zoo industry involving caretakers winding up with positive tuberculosis tests (eek!) 😱

Yup, I get nervous every year when I get my TB test taken (mostly because I would feel so guilty if I was a vector to the animals)... always watching for something to turn up on my arm until the test gets read a few days later.

Fortunately zoos are getting more and more careful- testing animals prior to and again after shipment during quarantine, and every year during their physical exams.

Did you guys see the news story about the guy with the "drug resistant" TB- Scary!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18945879/

 

[DropkickMurphy]

mostly because I would feel so guilty if I was a vector to the animals

You should be more concerned for yourself than anything else? Ever seen the side effects/toxic effects of isoniazid?

 

[wildfocus]

You should be more concerned for yourself than anything else? Ever seen the side effects/toxic effects of isoniazid?

i was on INH (isoniazid) for a year and am fine. just had to get my liver and kidneys tested every three months, but maybe i was just lucky?? i personally would worry more for the animals. TB can wipe out a whole colony of primates. Though having a drug resistant form would have been unbelievably scary.

from the animal hospital, i have only gotten ringworm. very bearable compared to the other diseases i have gotten from the humans there (numerous viruses from the doc/techs and their children - sometimes it's like we are at a day care!!). worse, though, was the stuff i got because of the human-induced squalor in india (TB and leprosy exposure, amoebas, bacillary dysentary).

 

[wildfocus]

Also, I know of several cases in the zoo industry involving caretakers winding up with positive tuberculosis tests (eek!) 😱

TB is everywhere and there are more positive ppd conversions than you would think. your co-workers very well could have gotten from the primate center if that is where they worked, but one can get exposed to TB just walking down the street.

 

[chris03333]

TB is everywhere and there are more positive ppd conversions than you would think. your co-workers very well could have gotten from the primate center if that is where they worked, but one can get exposed to TB just walking down the street.

umm from a human in a primate center. TB is extremely fatal in Non human primates. Trust me you would know quickly if there were active TB in a primate center by the mass deaths.😳

 

[wildfocus]

umm from a human in a primate center. TB is extremely fatal in Non human primates. Trust me you would know quickly if there were active TB in a primate center by the mass deaths.😳

that's what i think too, but couldn't find the scientific papers to back me up this AM. i do know that in a primate center the staff are very worried about human to non-human primate infection. the lab animals are extremely expensive and valuable to on-going experiments, and i have heard of a whole group of macaques being wiped out because of TB we gave them.

and, as I said, you can get exposed to TB just about anywhere....

 

[smhrd]

Well, so far I've been spared catching anything from animals. However, I'm a teacher, and if you want to hear about all the things I've caught from my students...😱

 

[sofficat]

fyi to all of you who have (or will get!) ringworm.... the nail polish theory actually works, at least for me 🙂

 

[Spartanvet4cows]

Yep, got crypto between high school graduation and starting undergrad. I guess I didn't wash my hands quite well enough before I grabbed that cheeseburger. Happened about a week before I got my wisdom teeth out, so I couldn't keep much down until about the day before, and then after I couldn't eat anything but soup and jello for a week. I guess that's one way to lose 12 pounds.

I think my cat and I are both going through a GI upset. I have no idea from what. His bloodwork and radiographs are normal so I've got him on metronidazole. Seems to be working for his diarrhea but his appetite still isn't where I want it. I think I'm spoiling him with tuna and salmon and he doesn't want to go back to the diet food. I think if mine persists much longer I'll have to go in myself. (by the way giving a cat liquid metronidazole.....NOT FUN!) I'm a large animal person and so even with the kitty burrito technique, things have a tendency to get interesting. I'm lucky he's such a tolerant guy. I'm sure there will be many more zoonoses to come!

 

[sofficat]

metro is the worst to give. i had to give it to my cat and my life saver was this stuff similar to play-doh. the docs had a free sample of it at work. you may be able to pick up something similar at a pet store. if the metro is a pill, that is (i know you said liquid metronidazole but if you mixed it with water yourself then you may still have pills left, anyways...). you take the nasty tasting pill and cover it with this fish flavor play-doh stuff and it slides right down the throat. so nice....

 

[Spartanvet4cows]

Nope it was already mixed. I have to shoot it in, hold his mouth until he swallows, and then the drooling starts....he looks like rabid kitty. I found it helps to wipe with a wet washcloth right away, it seems to make the drooling stop faster. My big problem is knowing whether or not he got it all, and how much of it might be "caught" in his drool. *crossing my fingers that I don't have to go in for more tests* Our vet school is expensive and even with my student discount bloodwork and radiographs were "digging deep" for me.