Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I'm doing an essay for my health class on diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Could anyone give me some info on some diseases that are transmitted from reptiles and amphibians,how they affect humans,treatments,and prevention?

Hi there,
I can give you a starting point:
Salmonella which is a bacteria is often transmitted to humans via handling reptiles. It is a normal flora bacteria of reptiles, but not of humans. Prevention: wash your hands after handling them!
Internal Parasites: there are so many internal parasites that can effect reptiles, humans and many other animals. Roundworms are common in reptiles and could potentially be passed to humans. Treatment usually involves drug thearapy.
External Parasites: MITES! Some species of mites can be transmitted to humans. There are anti-mite sprays available over the counter which may control light infections in reptiles. Severe cases may require further treatment.
This is just a very brief outline, you may want to research these further for your project, but i hope this helped you and gave you a starting point.
EVH

While the salmonella that can be present in the gutload of reptiles (this does not mean that every reptile has it)can be transmitted to humans via uncleanliness this problem has been blown out of proportion. Perhaps a better topic would be to research salmonella (by far and away the most common zoonoses in reptiles), and how to prevent transmission.

A definition that will help you: zoonoses-describes the transmission of a disease from animal to human.

I suggest calling a herp veterinarian for his opinion /- the use of his literature. A university library may also be helpfull. Try typing in reptile and zoonoses into a google search.

Although there are many other parasites in reptiles and amphibians as suggested in the post above, most are species specific and I don't think there are any that will affect humans.
(For instance, Giardia lamblia is what affects people, while G. muris affects other mammals, and another species affects reptiles and amphibians.)

I agree with Joey's opinion on the other zoonoses, I was unaware of anything but salmonella. The CDC website doesn't list anthing else under herps (btw, they list 14 diseases for cats, including THE PLAGUE!).

Do all of us herpers a favor and make sure you get good info on salmonella and herps. It's FAR EASIER to get it from chicken or eggs.
Click here for the link

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