Indeed, when the child has a pet they can learn many things, among them responsibility and empathy training.

However, one of which became the biggest worry is about pet health. Without intending to scare, before deciding to maintain the animals, you’ll want to know first what is common illnesses suffered by pets and may be contagious to humans! Here’s an explanation that you can pay attention to your child:

Rabbit Disease

Tularemia
Is a rare infectious disease that can attack the skin, eyes and lungs. Tularemia, often called rabbit fever, is caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. This disease, infecting mammals, particularly rodents such as rabbits and rats, although it can also infect birds, reptiles and fish.

Tularemia spread to humans through several means, including insect bites and directly affected by an infected animal. Tularemia is highly infectious and potentially fatal if not treated.

Symptoms of tularemia
Most people exposed to tularemia became sick within two to 10 days. Signs and symptoms include:
- Skin ulcer that forms at the site of infection (usually an insect or animal bites)
- Swelling and pain in lymph nodes
- Fever
- Shivering
- Headaches
- Fatigue

Treatment
Tularemia can be treated with antibiotics such as streptomycin or gentamicin, which is given by injection directly into a muscle or vein. Or via oral administration such as tetracycline. In general, patients are immune to tularemia after recovering from this disease, but some people can recur.

Bird Diseases

Psittacosis infection
This rare disease usually transmitted to humans and birds caused by a germ called Chlamydia psittacis. Time interval from when a hit by germs and the development of symptoms is uncertain, ranging from four to 15 days.

Those affected will experience a fever, swelter, headache, weakness and muscle aches. There is also attributable to a dry cough, chest pain and difficulty breathing. If severe, the lungs may be inflamed. In birds can be seen symptoms like diarrhea, weakness, hair matted, do not want to eat and runny eyes or nose.

Transmission Process
Infections generally occur when humans inhale bacteria derived from feces dry and infected. You or your child can also be affected due to kissing (mouth human and part bird) or touch the feathers and body of an infected bird. There is no evidence that the Psittacosis contagious among humans.

All bird species are susceptible to infection, but pet birds such as parrots, parakeet, parrot, and poultry (turkeys and ducks) are birds that often transmit disease in humans.

Diagnosis and Treatment
Trying to make sure where it came from this infection, it is very important. People who had contact with infected birds need to be aware of symptoms of infection.

While infected birds should be separated and treated with antibiotics and germs in the cage was also eradicated. Because it is difficult to detect whether a bird infected with this disease or not, then wash your hands after contact with domestic birds. Also, avoid “kissing” with birds. Better a bird in a cage locked up in a clean, large in size as well as parts of the base paper coated paper which is often replaced. Bird droppings do not accumulate, dry up and become dust flying. Before cleaning, always wet the dirt and cages.

If doctors suspect you are affected by this disease, you should take a blood test. From the results of X-rays will also be seen the existence of pneumonia. Psittacosis can be treated with antibiotics should continue to be drunk for two weeks.

Diseases Cats and Dogs

Infection Toxocariasis
Toxocariasis is a parasitic disease caused by worms internal ascarida of the genus Toxocara. Can not be transmitted through the faecal handled properly. Animals that become infected show symptoms of emaciation, dull hair, enlarged abdomen, intestinal disorders, among others, characterized by abdominal pain. In some cases may indicate anemia, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation. Cough symptoms can be observed as a result of the respiratory system via tail migration.

As for the risk of toxocariasis are children and cat owners. The following types of infections are transmitted by pet cats:

Ocular Larva Migrans (Olm)
Occurs when the larvae enter the eye, causing inflammation and the formation of connective tissue on the retina. Ocular injuries due to migration of larvae into the posterior chamber eyeball, causing granulomatous renitis, adhesion of the retina, vision loss, or in severe cases permanent blindness.

Visceral Larva Migrans (VLM)
Severe or recurrent infections, although rarely can cause VLM, swelling of body organs or central nervous system. Organs that can be affected include the liver, lungs, kidneys and brain. Symptoms of VLM caused displacement worm larvae in the body include: fever, cough, asthma, or pneumonia. Olm usually occurs in children aged seven to eight years while the VLM in children aged one to four years.

Prevention
Stool examination should be performed immediately after the cat or dog children aged four to eight weeks. Drug administration should be performed at least 1 worm once a year. Son of a cat or dog at risk of infection until the age of six months, because it’s important to give worm medicine regularly. The kitten had worms breeding egg faster than a puppy.

Drug administration worms can be implemented effectively starting from age two to three weeks, repeated at week five, seven and nine. Ages two to twelve weeks every two weeks. Age 12 weeks to six months once a month, while the age of six months upwards once every three months.