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Who can resist a soft and adorable kitten? Especially for contemporary office workers who are under great pressure from work, being able to happily pet cats for a while during their breaks is simply the best way to prolong their lives. However, cat owners have probably wondered whether ringworm can be transmitted to humans. Are the small bumps and red rashes on the body ringworm? For example: First a small red envelope appears, and then it breaks and turns into a red circle skin lesion Like this: Symptoms of ringworm in little girl They are indeed cat ringworm! Moreover, if the scalp is continuously infected by cat ringworm, it may cause baldness! Think about the little hair you have left, do you still dare to pet cats recklessly?
What is ringworm in cats? Let’s first understand what ringworm in cats is.
Let’s start with ringworm, which is the medical abbreviation for dermatophytosis. This is a relatively common type of skin disease that can affect different parts of the body (tinea corporis), scalp (tinea capitis), feet (tinea pedis) and groin (tinea cruris).
The cause of the disease is fungal infection of the skin. The fungi that cause the infection are collectively called dermatophytes (referring only to fungi that cause superficial skin infections), mainly including Trichophyton, Microsporum and Epidermophyton.
The common characteristic of these fungi is that they are fond of keratin (the structural protein of epithelial cells) and can easily invade the skin, hair and even nails of humans and animals, causing dermatophytosis.
Once you understand what ringworm is, it is easy to understand ringworm in cats. It is a dermatophyte disease that occurs in cats. There are three main types of fungi that cause ringworm in cats, namely Microsporum canis, Microsporum gypseum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Among them, Microsporum canis is the most easily transmitted, and about 98% of ringworm in cats is caused by Microsporum canis. Microsporum canis magnified 400 times. Typical ringworm in cats will cause patchy hair loss (mostly circular), skin scabs (scaly, central healing, and erythema around), and sometimes itching in the affected area. For cats, the parts that are prone to ringworm in cats are mainly the face, trunk, limbs, and tail. In severe cases, it can spread to the whole body (in this case, it is easy to have secondary bacterial infection, which increases the difficulty of treatment). Bald spots and hair loss caused by ringworm in cats In the early stages of ringworm infection in cats, you may not notice bald spots on cats, but their hair will lose more and more.
The skin will become rough and the amount of dandruff will increase significantly. As the disease progresses, the hair will fall out more and more, and the cat will become bald. Scaling and hair loss on the face, ears, etc. are typical symptoms of ringworm. Can humans also be infected with ringworm? Because ringworm can cause itching, cats with the disease may over-groom or even scratch their skin. If you notice your cat scratching its skin, you should pay attention (check if your cat has ringworm), because ringworm can spread not only between cats, but also to humans.
Ringworm is highly contagious and can be spread through direct skin contact or contact with contaminated items. If your cat is unfortunately infected with ringworm, the safety of petting cats will be greatly reduced. Generally speaking, if you have a strong immune system and your skin is not damaged, the probability of being infected even if you come into contact with an infected cat is low. However, if your skin is abraded or you have a skin disease such as eczema, the chance of being infected with ringworm will be greatly increased.
People with weakened immune systems are often more susceptible to ringworm, such as young children, the elderly, and people undergoing immunotherapy. Studies have shown that up to 13% of human fungal infections are associated with pathogens that cause ringworm, and in cat-owning households where cats are infected with ringworm, about 30% of households have at least one person who will be infected with ringworm. People can also be infected with ringworm. Ringworm can not only infect cats and humans. If you have both cats and dogs, you also have to worry about ringworm being transmitted to dogs. Dogs infected with ringworm will show typical skin symptoms. Dogs infected with ringworm. On the one hand, cats may transmit fungi to humans, and on the other hand, humans may also transmit fungi (such as athlete's foot) to cats and dogs. If you are unfortunately infected with fungi, it is best to control yourself from petting cats and dogs to prevent infection of your own pets. Cats, in particular, are generally more susceptible to ringworm than dogs.
What should I do if my cat is infected with ringworm? What should you do if your cat at home is infected with ringworm (or suspected of being infected with ringworm)?
The first step is of course to go to the hospital for a diagnosis. Experienced doctors can usually make a judgment based on skin symptoms. In addition, using a Wood's lamp can also help determine whether the cat is infected with ringworm (Microsporum canis shows green fluorescence under the lamp). If it is still unclear, it is necessary to pluck the hair and take skin scrapings for microscopic examination. Fungal spores can be stained and examined under a microscope to help diagnose the condition. After the condition is clear, treatment should begin. Ringworm in cats can be cured. For less severe ringworm in cats, topical antifungal drugs can be used; if the condition is more serious, oral antifungal drugs need to be taken; if secondary bacterial infection occurs, treatment will be more complicated.
Some cats have mild illnesses and may recover on their own without medication, but you should never take any risks with your pets. Early detection and treatment are essential.
If you suspect that you have been infected with ringworm, you also need to go to the hospital as soon as possible for diagnosis. Generally, as long as you take the medication as prescribed by the doctor (mostly topical medications), you will recover soon (ringworm symptoms in humans are usually not too serious).
When treating cats for ringworm, be sure to wear gloves, wash your hands frequently, and take protective measures; if you live in a household with multiple pets, be sure to isolate sick cats (or other pets); if you are sick yourself, you will have to stop petting your cat.
In addition to drug treatment, another point that needs attention is that the living environment must be thoroughly disinfected to remove any residual fungal spores. Ringworm is often prevalent and difficult to eradicate in stray cats living in poor living environments because of repeated fungal infections.
So for the sake of your beloved cat, you must pay attention to hygiene. END Reviewed by Zhang Yuhong, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Dermatology, Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University Tadpole Musical Notation original article/reprinted with source editor/Xiaoxi Tushuo |
