Wild Animal Diseases

Introduction
Diseases wildlife animals can get can cause them to become very ill and die in the end. Certain wildlife species which are ill can also infect humans who get in a close touch with them. Diseases that pass from a wild animal to a human are called zoo-noses. These diseases that can pass from a wildlife animal onto a human can be contracted from wild animals directly by contamination or bites.

Precautions
When wanting to remove a wild animal from your attic or your home, you should be extremely careful. And you should be especially careful when you want to remove a wild animal that looks sick or mad.

Some important precautions to take when dealing with wildlife animals include:

• Wear safety equipment, such as rubber gloves.
• Avoid at all costs eating or drinking while removing a wild animal from your home or attic.
• Contact a medical doctor if you start experiencing symptoms after handling a wild animal.
You should also wear a protective gas mask when removing animal droppings to protect yourself from inhaling waste particles that could lead you to get infected with a fungal disease called histoplasmosis.

Wild Animal Disease You Can Contract Directly
There are a plethora of wild animal diseases people can contact directly if they come into a direct contact with a sick wild animal. Such diseases include:

• Rabies
• Colorado Tick Fever
• Roundworm
• Tularemia
• Rat-bite Fever
• Plague
About Rabies
Rabies is probably the worst disease a person can contract while being in a direct contact with a wild animal. Wild animals that typically carry the rabies virus are foxes, bats, raccoons, and skunks. Pets are also at risk of contracting rabies if they get in touch with a sick wild animal.

Symptoms of rabies include behavior change, spasms, tremors, mouth slobbering, and paralysis. To protect yourself from rabies, wear protective gloves while dealing with a wild animal and when removing a dead wild animal.

About Roundworm
Roundworm is the second worst illness a human can contract from a wild animal. Raccoons are the main source of roundworm disease. However, this disease has also been found in birds, squirrels, mice, and dogs.

If your attic or home has been infected by raccoons, you should take extra precautions while removing the raccoons since you may get infected with roundworm. Some symptoms of roundworm infection include tiredness, nausea, liver enlargement, blindness, loss of coordination, loss of muscle control. The most likely way to get infected with roundworm is touching raccoon poop with your bare hands so stay away from raccoon poop as long as you aren’t wearing any protection gloves.

About Rat-bite Fever
Rats carry a lot of different disease but by far the worst illness they carry is Rat-bite fever. This illness is caused by a bacterium called Streptobacillus moniliformis. These bacteria are found on a rat’s teeth. So, this means that you should make sure that you don’t get bitten by a rat.

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