Owning a pet is a big responsibility, and besides simply feeding or grooming it, care must be taken to make sure you’re both kept healthy when new diseases make their rounds. One of the ways that humans and animals both can find themselves in danger is from outside forces such as bugs and parasites.
Ticks and fleas are common, but a new threat, the Kissing Bug, has been making it’s way out of South America and Mexico into the southern United States, like Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. This little bug passes along a pretty serious parasitic infection to both humans and animals alike, that if left untreated can cause congestive heart failure.
Worse still, many people are unaware they – or their pets – have it until it’s gotten to an advanced stage where it’s already started attacking the heart muscles. If you’re in one of the areas where the Kissing Bug may have started showing up, a good level of due diligence is in order! To start with, most symptoms are mild and start 2 months after infection.
If you live in any of these places, look out for fever, headache, enlarged lymph glands, muscle pain, difficulty breathing, swollen abdomen, chest pain, or weakness and fatigue to name just a few. If you even suspect you’ve gotten this parasite, get these symptoms checked out fast because the next phase starts over 10 to 30 years later! This is when it moves into the heart muscles and really does some damage.
The disease is passed through the feces and urine of the bug, so there are steps you can take to keep you and your pet safe; good hygiene is a must, for you as well as your food.
Never crush or squish the bug or touch it with your bare hands, and keep your pets indoors at night since these bugs are nocturnal. Keep your eyes open for the Triatomine Bug whenever you’re outside – not all kisses are sweet!
Share away, people.
Ticks and fleas are common, but a new threat, the Kissing Bug, has been making it’s way out of South America and Mexico into the southern United States, like Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. This little bug passes along a pretty serious parasitic infection to both humans and animals alike, that if left untreated can cause congestive heart failure.
Worse still, many people are unaware they – or their pets – have it until it’s gotten to an advanced stage where it’s already started attacking the heart muscles. If you’re in one of the areas where the Kissing Bug may have started showing up, a good level of due diligence is in order! To start with, most symptoms are mild and start 2 months after infection.
The disease is passed through the feces and urine of the bug, so there are steps you can take to keep you and your pet safe; good hygiene is a must, for you as well as your food.
Never crush or squish the bug or touch it with your bare hands, and keep your pets indoors at night since these bugs are nocturnal. Keep your eyes open for the Triatomine Bug whenever you’re outside – not all kisses are sweet!