By Luke Andrews Health Reporter For Dailymail.Com
17:35 27 Oct 2023, up to date 17:49 27 Oct 2023
A ‘wholesome’ lady in Texas suffered from violent diarrhea for months after catching a bacterial an infection from her pet cat.
The 31-year-old, from Houston, was identified with C. diff, a extremely contagious an infection that throws the digestive system off stability and results in painful irritation within the colon.
It is often attributable to coming into contact with contaminated surfaces or contact with contaminated individuals. But when the lady’s signs didn’t subside after two months regardless of taking remedy, docs started investigating additional.
They labored out that she had adopted a stray cat a few month earlier than her signs began – and determined to check the animal.
It has at all times been theorized that animals might cross the an infection to people, however it’s by no means been confirmed.
Swabs revealed that each the lady and the cat had been contaminated with the identical strains of C. diff.
The cat had no signs of the sickness. The lady was in any other case wholesome, didn’t smoke, drink alcohol socially and solely had one male sexual companion.
The case was revealed within the American Journal of Case Reports, with docs warning it was a reminder of the dangers posed by family pets.
The lady first got here to docs complaining of extreme diarrhea 4 instances a day and a fever which she had been struggling for per week.
Doctors saved her in hospital for 2 days and gave her antibiotics earlier than she was discharged.
Statistics present about 500,000 Americans are contaminated with C. difficile yearly, with two-thirds of those instances linked to care houses.
It kills 15,000-30,000 individuals annually within the US.
Anyone could be contaminated, however the majority of instances occur when sufferers are taking antibiotics, or shortly after they end their course.
This is as a result of antibiotics disrupt the micro organism within the intestine.
Those 65 and older who’ve stayed at hospital or nursing home just lately are most in danger.
Immunosuppressed people are additionally extra in danger.
Symptoms embody abdomen aches, lack of urge for food, feeling nauseous, diarrhea and a fever
It could be ingested as spores and survive the acid within the abdomen to succeed in the intestines, the place it begins to develop uncontrolled and launch toxins inflicting harm to cells.
Symptoms begin 5 to 10 days after an infection and initially seem like just like meals poisoning — though they persist.
In critical instances, it could actually result in life-threatening dehydration attributable to extreme diarrhea from the an infection.
Studies counsel as much as 20 p.c of sufferers die from a C. difficile an infection inside 30 days of analysis, though the illness is rather more frequent in older adults with weaker immune methods.
The illness may also trigger harm to cells within the colon elevating the danger that they may change into cancerous and colon most cancers will emerge.
Cats can change into contaminated from C. difficile by way of contact with soil contaminated with the feces of different animals.
They can be contaminated by way of ingesting contaminated meals and from veterinary clinics and animal shelters the place they’re in shut proximity to different animals.
Dogs can decide up the micro organism in the identical methods.
Cats can then get spores from the micro organism onto their fur once they clear themselves or they are often current of their feces.
Humans can decide these up by way of stroking the animal or when cleansing their litter trays, inflicting an an infection.
Antibiotics are used to deal with C. difficile infections.
