SARS: Carriers, Symptoms, Treatment

SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is an infectious respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. The first cases of the illness occurred in 2002 in China. The contagious nature of the illness and slow response led to its rapid spread around the world. The virus lives in some wild civets and bats in China and found in certain laboratory cultures.

Causes

Several coronaviruses infect humans and animals, the common cold is one of the diseases caused by these viruses. Scientists suggest that the virus originated in wild bats then infected civets and other similar mammals. The virus mutated to infect people eventually; the virus infected humans because bats serve as food in certain parts of Asia. Civets are cat-like animals that live in Asia and Africa, they create musk using their scent glands, which are used in perfumes. In certain parts of the world, these animals are hunted for their meat.

The disease spreads from person to person through secretions. In its first outbreak, SARS infected people who were caring for a sick person and spread easily in healthcare facilities until the establishment of control measures.

The virus can infect a person regardless of age or health; however, there were people who had a higher risk during the outbreak of the disease in 2002. The people at risk during that time were individuals 50 years old and above, pregnant women, and those with pre-existing medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or liver disease. One of the biggest risk factors is close association with an infected person since the virus may spread through droplets sprayed by talking, sneezing or coughing.

Symptoms

An infected person begins to display the symptoms between two to seven days after infection. The illness is similar to influenza and may last for up to one week. Symptoms of the disease include:

1. Headache
2. Chills
3. Fever
4. Muscle aches
5. Poor appetite

After the initial symptoms, a patient suffers from a syndrome similar to atypical pneumonia, including dry cough, progressively worsening dyspnea and inability to maintain oxygenation. Progression may be rapid or spread over several days. Severely affected individuals develop a life-threatening respiratory failure called adult respiratory distress syndrome.

Treatments

Patients suffering from SARS often need oxygen and severe cases may need mechanical ventilation. Severely ill patients must be sent to the intensive-care unit for treatment. There has yet to be a proven effective treatment for SARS, and treatments are supportive and directed by a person’s condition.

While not all breeds of bats carry SARS, it is important to stay alert when they infest your home. The best way to avoid infection from bats of any disease is to let professional Ottawa wildlife control handle them. Ottawa wildlife control companies such as Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control have the necessary experience and equipment to get rid of bats to avoid and prevent infection and spread of any disease they may be carrying.

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How to Handle an Injured or Dead Bat

Have bats infested your property? If so, you must be wary of handling them whenever you see an injured or dead one. Bats may transmit all sorts of bacteria, germs and diseases, if you are not careful about handling them. The best way to handle injured or dead bats is to get professional Ottawa wildlife control companies to do it for you.

Diseases Caused by Bats

Bats may spread life-threatening diseases such as histoplasmosis or rabies.

Rabies is the most well-known illness that bats may transmit. Other than bats, you may get rabies from rabid animals such as dogs, raccoons, skunks and foxes. Exposure to this disease takes place when a rabid animal bites you. You may also get an infection when the saliva from an infected animal comes in contact with your nose, eyes, mouth or a fresh wound. .

The incubation of rabies varies in infected people and animals. Medical experts recommend that an individual bitten by a rabid animal must get appropriate treatment within 12 to 48 hours from the time of a bite. The virus attaches to the nervous system then moves to the brain. If a person does not get treatment as soon as possible, the disease will result in death.

Histoplasmosis is another bat-related disease that you must be aware of; this is a lung disease that you get when you inhale spores from bat droppings. An infected individual will get sick with mild to high fever and have muscle pains and respiratory problems. The illness puts the life of infants and seniors who have a poor immune system.

The symptoms of this disease start as non-existent to severe within a few days. The signs of this illness include:

1. Flu-like symptoms
2. Chills
3. Mild fever
4. Aching joints
5. Chest pains
6. Bouts of coughing

You might get these two well-known diseases from bats if you do not remove them from your property immediately. Once you see a bat, chances are there are more of them hiding in your attic or between walls. When you see a dead or injured bat, it is best to have an expert get rid of it for you.

Proper Bat Removal

Ottawa wildlife control experts will effectively and humanely get rid of bats or other wildlife that infested your property. They have the gear and proper equipment to handle and remove injured or dead bats as well as colonies. They can prevent the spread of germs and diseases because they have the expertise and knowledge for proper removal. You can count on Ottawa wildlife control companies like Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control to do the job for you.

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Dangers of Bats to Pets

Are you thinking of the dangers that bats pose to your pets? These thoughts are perfectly normal because you want to make sure your dogs or cats are safe from these flying creatures. These nocturnal animals carry different types of germs, insects and diseases that it may transmit to you and your pets.

Diseases Spread by Bats

Bats may transmit deadly rabies and histoplasmosis through the inhalation of spores found in their feces. Your pet dog or cat is at risk of getting these ailments from the nocturnal creatures that infest and multiply in your property.

Bats may become aggressive and bite your pet dog when he or she catches them by surprise when they find they’re way out of the attic and fly around your house. Rabies spreads when an infected bat bites or scratches your pet. The saliva of an infected animal may also transmit the deadly disease if their saliva comes into contact with the eyes, nose or mouth. Symptoms of this illness include; violent movements, fever, uncontrolled excitement, fear of water, confusion and loss of consciousness. Once the signs appear, it often results in the death of your pet.

Several vaccines are now available to protect pets and you from getting the disease or transmitting it to others.

Histoplasmosis is a respiratory ailment that may affect the quality of life of your pet once infected. The infection begins in the lungs as the fungi replicate, leading to respiratory problems. Several healthy pets recover from the milder effects of the infection. However, pets with a low immune system are likely to develop a severe form of the illness. The disease may spread to the lymph nodes, liver, eyes, gastrointestinal system or the spleen.

Common symptoms of infected dogs and cats include;

1. Weight loss
2. Fever
3. Loss of appetite
4. Depression
5. Laboured breathing with lung sounds
6. Coughing bouts

The gastrointestinal form of the disease has the following symptoms; diarrhoea and blood in the stool.

To keep your pets safe from these diseases caused by bats, make sure to get rid of these nocturnal creatures properly and immediately.

Remove Bats Effectively

One of the best ways to get rid of bats humanely and effectively is with the help of an Ottawa wildlife control professionals like Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control. These specialists know the habits of these nocturnal creatures, making them efficient and fast in their work.

Skedaddle’s Ottawa wildlife control team uses the latest and humane methods for removing wildlife they find in your property. You are sure to have a bat-free home after they are done with their removal and exclusion services.

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