But after a while, the infected person may recover, then fall sick again. This article contains incorrect information, This article doesnt have the information Im looking for. They may also have a mixture of those issues. For more clarity, possums do not carry diseases per se. Well, pet parents certainly need to be more careful about possums. They are also typically rather timid, so unless they are cornered, opossums will likely hurry away to avoid a confrontation. The first phase starts with fever, muscle aches, chills, and headache. Opossum Diseases - One of the important concerns that many people will have if they come into contact with a wild animal is whether or not they could catch a disease, and how the disease can be transmitted. The interesting part is that physiological response is involuntary (like fainting), and it is triggered when nothing else works automatically, rather than as a conscious act they can control. You should also never purposely feed an opossum that wanders into your yard. The specific symptoms of tularemia vary, depending on the mode of entry of the bacteria into the body. Toxoplasmosis is one of the primary causes of death from foodborne illness in the United States. You have subscribed to: Remember that you can always manage your preferences or unsubscribe through the link at the foot of each newsletter. While many animals with coccidiosis are asymptomatic, the young, elderly, or immunocompromised animals could develop severe symptoms. It's only natural to wonder what concoction of diseases is bubbling up in that mouth! Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. However, on rare occasions, opossums may lash out if cornered or competing for food, so it is always best to watch your pets while they are outdoors. Call (833) 732-0439, How to Protect Your Home From Wildlife In Winter, What to Do if You Have a Hole in Your Roof. Researchers found that possums are better at remembering which runway led to a tasty treat than rats, cats, dogs, and pigs. Tularemia can be mild or life-threatening. To learn more about our products and how to keep opossums away from your environment, contact us today! Do not attempt to pet or get too close to the opossum. The Kidadl Team is made up of people from different walks of life, from different families and backgrounds, each with unique experiences and nuggets of wisdom to share with you. This site does not include all companies or products available within the market. Some diseases opossums can carry include: Leptospirosis It is a bacterial disease. When scared or threatened, they "play possum," simulating the appearance and smell of a sick or dead animal. When left untreated, Leptospirosis can cause complications, including liver failure, kidney damage, respiratory distress, meningitis, or death. Plus, as indiscriminate omnivores, they already have plenty to eat. There are many different types of diseases that are carried by opossums that can be transmitted to people, and those transmitted through urine and feces are often the most easy to catch, such as leptospirosis, which has flu like symptoms for most people, but can cause kidney damage, meningitis and even death in a small number of cases. An opossumis characterized by its grayish fur, triangular head and long, pointed nose. ), Do Skunks Eat Meat? There are slim chances of such events as possums are not aggressive, but they may resort to anger if anyone threatens their babies or young ones. They discovered the benefits of living side-by-side with humans very fast, so they sometimes lodge in barns, sheds, or under houses. Researchers have been trying to harvest possums antivenom powers for decades. Please note that we do receive compensation for any products you buy or sign up to via this advertisement, and that compensation impacts the ranking and placement of any offers listed herein. As long as you exercise common sense then the chance of getting a disease from an opossum is slim. Dawn has a BA in journalism from Western Washington University and is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Lets start with that nasty hissing and copious saliva. This happens when they are around four months old. The brain of baby opossums also sometimes fail to react this way at the appropriate moment: they often can not "play dead" when threatened. In short, be watchful in every way possible. How We can safely trap and remove them, exclude your home to prevent future issues, and clean and sanitize your the affected areas. The state of your immune system is pretty vital to your chances of getting infected or getting sick with tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a severe infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. So the real question is, has your uninvited guest been bitten by more than just the ugly bug? Opossum disease There are only a few diseases that are associated with opossum. Apart from rabies, these marsupials possess many other diseases. Muzzle shape is useful for detecting the direction of the scent and sniffing out bugs under the soil. Chagas disease: Caused by the tiny one-celled parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, a possum may bring this parasite into your garden where it then transfers onto your Coccidiosis: Caused by a parasite that lives in the wall of your dog's intestine, it may not cause any symptoms, but it can be fatal for young pups as it causes a severe infection. If you live in the countryside with a garden filled with insects and pests, having possums around will greatly help. As a dog owner, you must immediately get your vet's advice if your dog eats a possum or gets bitten by one, or it kills one of them. They also can cause damage as they burrow under sheds, decks and porches to build nests where they take shelter and raise their young. The chances that youll need to actually do anything about one is pretty rare. Answer: Any mammal can get rabies. The best way to avoid them is to keep any food away from the garden or outdoors. For many homeowners in these areas, it shouldnt be a surprise to catch a glimpse of one every now and then. (If Yes, How High Can They? Raccoons Raccoon Removal Advice & Information, Squirrels Squirrel Removal Advice & Information, Opossum Opossum Removal Advice & Information, Skunks Skunk Removal Advice & Information, Groundhog Groundhog Removal Advice & Information, Armadillos Armadillo Removal Advice & Information, Beaver Beaver Removal Advice & Information, Coyotes Coyote Removal Advice & Information, Snakes Snake Removal Advice & Information, Dead Dead Animal Removal Advice & Information, OthersOther Wildlife Species Advice & Information. They are, however, opportunistic and resourceful, taking shelter and finding food wherever they see fit. ), https://blog.nwf.org/2017/06/opossums-unsung-heroes-in-the-fight-against-ticks-and-lyme-disease, https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/beneficial/benefits-of-opossums.htm, https://crittercontroloftampa.com/blog/how-can-i-tell-if-an-opossum-is-sick, http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74123.html, https://www.terminix.com/blog/home-garden/opossums-facts-rabies/, https://urbanjunglewildliferemoval.com/blog/are-opossums-dangerous/#diseases, https://www.cdc.gov/leptospirosis/index.html, https://www.cdc.gov/leptospirosis/symptoms/index.html, https://news.okstate.edu/articles/veterinary-medicine/2018/leptospirosis-in-cats.html, https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/infectious-parasitic/c_multi_leptospirosis, https://www.cdc.gov/tularemia/transmission/index.html, https://www.cdc.gov/tularemia/signssymptoms/index.html, https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/tularemia-in-cats, https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/tularemia-in-dogs, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chagas-disease-(american-trypanosomiasis), https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/chagas-disease-in-dogs, https://www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/blog/posts/chagas-disease-in-pets.html, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tuberculosis/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351256, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tuberculosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351250, https://www.cdc.gov/otherspottedfever/index.html, https://adobevets.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Newsletter-Tick-Borne-Diseases-and-Your-Pet.pdf, https://www.cdc.gov/relapsing-fever/index.html, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6236141, https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/disease.html, https://www.msdvetmanual.com/dog-owners/disorders-affecting-multiple-body-systems-of-dogs/toxoplasmosis-in-dogs, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/rabies/symptoms-causes/syc-20351821, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies. But they take their cleanliness seriously: they use their tongue and paws to groom themselves frequently and thoroughly, just like house cats. Home Do Possums Carry Diseases? While a person with latent tuberculosis may only take 1-2 drugs, someone with active tuberculosis may need up to 4 drugs for a couple of months. They will crawl into the pouch and continue their development there. Scratches on the outer surface like trees, roofs, and benches. However, the parasites will remain in your body. Subscribe for virtual tools, STEM-inspired play, Kidadl has a number of affiliate partners that we work with including Amazon. As an escape mechanism, their bodies become still for 2 minutes to 2 hours. Most are transmitted through contact with their urine or feces and include leptospirosis, salmonella, toxoplasmosis, and coccidiosis which can affect people and domestic animals. As we already mentioned, opossums play host to several ectoparasites, including fleas, ticks and lice. Lexie came from HomeAdvisor and Angi (formerly Angies list) and is responsible for writing and editing articles over a wide variety of home-related topics. The symptoms will stay around for some weeks or months, then disappear. Officially known as the Virginian opossum, opossums are the only marsupials native to the United States. To get the full experience, you need to be standing over to it to smell the putrid odor it emits when pretending to be a corpse. It affects both humans and animals. Therefore, they rarely bite. And just because they are harmless doesnt mean you want them there. The truth is just the opposite: Opossums are smarter, cleaner, and more beneficial to humans than many of their woodland neighbors. Your resident opossum might be just a bump in the night, but it could also be a carrier of leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, salmonella and tuberculosis. Many of these diseases are treatable, but you should avoid getting them in the first place. The main concern for pets is flea-borne typhus. When the opossum is infected, leptospirosis can be transmitted to humans as well as animals through their feces and urine. The causative organisms belong to the Rickettsia genus, and ticks transmit them. They provide free pest control by eating a variety of insects, small snakeseven venomous speciesmice and baby rats, White explains. We know it can be confusing: Google Images show you opossums when you search "possum," and it is very common to call the North American animal "possum." They are marsupials with a rats-like appearance, but there is a stark dissimilarity. Knowing the difference between possum and opossum helps kids and their parents to know these species better. This can put your pet in serious danger if its bitten by a possums pointy teeth and ultimately, put your family in danger by exposing you to any disease that was transmitted to your pet. To be precise, coccidiosis attacks the dog's intestinal tract, causing abdominal issues like diarrhea, fever, and loss of appetite, and may be fatal in extreme cases. What Diseases Can Possums Carry? Possums weigh anything between a few oz to 20 lb; opossums can grow into a weight of 8.8 to 13.2 lb. They are not as suitable for shelling grains and nuts. Leptospirosis in humans is pretty severe when it progresses to the second phase. One explanation they came up with was that male opossums impregnated females through the nose. Bring in your pets food bowls before nightfall, since possums have a good sense of smell and will eat your pets food if thats its only option. Thanks to their acting-and-smelling-like-a-corpse custom, opossums have a reputation of an unsanitary animal. job blog. Read on for more opossum facts. "name": "Opossum in the Backyard", Possums have no control over when they play dead or for how long they do it: The comatose-like state is an involuntary reaction triggered by stress. However, they can carry a variety of other types of disease that can be potentially harmful to your family. If you feed your pets outside, clean their food bowls and make sure you move everything inside as soon as they finish their kibbles. There are, however, plenty of other infectious diseases to watch out for when it comes to possums. She has a bachelors degree in Agriculture and masters degree work in large animal reproduction. So, ensure you keep your pets away from possums. We can safely and effectively handle all your opossum or pest problems. Diarrhea is the primary symptom. Youve probably heard time and time again that possums have rabies. Young opossums can use their tails to hang from branches upside down. Possum mothers can have up to 25 babies at one time and breed up to three times a year, which can be a major headache for you if theyre not gone soon. Even though they arent the cuddliest creatures, opossum attacks are rare and unlikely. All you really need to do is make sure there is an accessible exit route. Early treatment reduces the chances of progression to the second phase and shortens recovery time. This, perhaps, is the most dangerous thing about them. Nonetheless, they may not be the best companions for your pets. Opossums carry diseases such as leptospirosis, tuberculosis, relapsing fever, tularemia, spotted fever, toxoplasmosis, coccidiosis, trichomoniasis, and Chagas disease. Why Is Biodiversity Critical To Life On Earth? Marsupials like opossums have a lower temperature compared to other types of mammals in North America, making their bodies a less suitable environment for the rabies virus. Opossums can be tricky critters, and it is right to stay away from regardless whether or not they contain rabies. The animal will typically regain consciousness after a period of a few minutes to four hours and escape quietly on its own. Although, your pet might be safe if it is regularly vaccinated. Get expert advice on your home, design tips, how much to pay for pros and hiring experts, delivered to you daily. The opossums, the misunderstood North American marsupials, are the heroes of this article. Rabies is a deadly viral disease that affects the nerves. Possums may snack on pet food, especially cat food. Both possums and opossums are marsupials with pouches to carry their babies in, just like kangaroos. Also, they consume significant amounts of ticks, totaling around 5000 ticks a year. Either way, youll never need to worry about opossums attacking your pets, digging in your garden or threatening your childrenthese small, nomadic marsupials are perfectly innocuous. In the chronic phase, infected persons may suffer heart, neurological, or digestive issues. Other common behaviors are running, growling, urinating and even playing dead. These remarkable critters are immune to a lot of things! In one case, 13 white-eared opossums of various age groups were cohabiting the same space. However, opossums are not likely to carry or spread rabies. Cats, dogs, and many other pets may also get tuberculosis. And you will keep relapsing following the same intervals until you get treatment. In the wild, opossums live in woodland areas near water, like swamps or streams. Opossums have many adaptations that made them successful survivors in diverse environments and conditions: they even have opposable digits that act like thumbs. You may find an opossum taking up residence in your porch, attic, stairs, garage or woodpile.
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