Cat scratch disease (CSD) is a bacterial infection spread by cats . The disease spreads when an infected cat licks a person's open wound or bites or scratches a person hard enough to break the surface of the skin.
Cat scratch disease, or “, known as cat scratch fever, is a type of disease that occurs when ” cats licking an open wound.
Cat scratch disease, which is in the class of diseases transmitted from cats to humans, is a disease that is more common in children and adults as a result of licking, biting or scratching of cats carrying the virus called “Bartonella Henselae”.
Cats carry the Bartonella Henselae virus in their saliva. Cat feeders at home spend more time with their cats playing games involuntarily scratching or licking causes owners to get cat scratch disease.
According to research on how cat scratch disease is transmitted to cats, this disease is transmitted to cats through fleas. regular cat care for cat scratch disease, which is found to be more common in cats younger than 12 months of age, and flea it is important to stay away from harmful bacteria such as.
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Who Is at Risk of Cat Harrowing Disease?
Due to the fact that it is a very inconceivable disease, cat scratch disease begins to be asked after more diseases. Children and adults who feed more than one cat at home or who are constantly in contact with cats are more at risk of cat scratching disease.
Cat scratching disease, which is transmitted from cats with higher levels of activity and offspring, is also a disease that can be transmitted due to the fact that the area is not disinfected after the cats scratch or bite.
Causes of Cat Harrow Disease
We mentioned above that cat scratch disease is transmitted by a virus called Bartonella Henselae. This virus, which is transmitted from fleas, is seen in kittens by 40. In adult cats, it is a disease that is more transmitted as a result of fighting with each other.
Bartonella Henselae virus in the mouth of cats and pathalys it is a visible virus. This shows that it is a disease that is more transmitted from cats to each other.
Cats with cat scratching disease often show no signs of the disease. However, if it is very severe, symptoms such as difficulty breathing in cats, infection in the mouth, eyes and urinary tract can be seen.
Bartonella Henselae is a disease in which surrogate cats bite, lick, or rub their mouth around the wound.
What Are the Symptoms of Cat Rash Disease?
Cats, in general, like to play with their owners and lick their owners. There is no such thing as cat scratch disease in every cat bite or lick.
A person bitten by a cat carrying the Bartonella Henselae virus begins to experience some symptoms within a few days.
In the areas where the cat licked or scratched, symptoms such as redness, swelling, pain or blistering begin to appear.
However, it should be noted that these pains are not very severe.
Cat scratch disease, which lasts for an average of 2 weeks, usually does not cause severe symptoms. But if the cat carries a virus intensively, fever, headache, extreme fatigue, etc, symptoms such as loss of appetite and swelling in the lymph nodes can be seen, and conditions such as swelling and redness can often begin to appear in areas where there is a cat bite.
Although cat scratch disease does not cause very serious problems in adults, it can sometimes be severe in children younger than 5 years of age.
Especially in the bones, cartilage, eyes, brain, heart or other organs, there may be a serious problem.
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How Is Cat Scratching Disease Diagnosed?
As we mentioned above, since cat scratch disease is a disease that does not have a lot of symptoms in the early periods, it may not be possible to understand this especially in the early times.
In the following days, if the person has the above symptoms, a specialist doctor should be consulted.
The doctor checks the necessary examination and the area of the cat bite and decides whether the virus has been carried.
In some cases, the patient may also be asked to have a blood test. Depending on the severity of the condition, medication or different treatment methods may be applied.
Cat Scratching Disease Treatment
If cat scratch disease is not of a very serious size, it is usually expected to go away on its own. However, in case of severe pain or symptoms, the doctor will ask for the use of painkillers.
The application of warm compresses to the area where swelling occurs due to the absence of a fatal disease helps the patient to rise sooner.
As a result of the cat bite, conditions such as swelling of the lymph nodes too can be seen. In such cases, the doctor takes the fluid that has accumulated inside, which helps the patient to relax significantly.
If the patient continues to experience the same symptoms for two months and there is a severe, persistent swelling, the doctor may request the administration of antibiotic treatment.
It is important to use medications regularly to prevent the infection from reaching bone and other tissues. If the cat bite disease is advanced, it may be desirable to continue the use of the drugs for treatment purposes for a few more months.
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How to Prevent Cat Scratching Disease?
Cat scratch disease, as we mentioned above, is a disease that occurs from playing with cats more and spending time with them.
Street cats because they are more exposed to fleas, Bartonella Henselae virus is more common in street cats.
Preventive measures such as being careful when playing with stray cats, disinfecting the area where cats bite, can be considered as the best methods to prevent getting sick.
If you are feeding a cat at home, it is important that children under 5 years of age are under supervision, especially when playing games with cats under 12 months of age.
Cats can lick or bite their playmates as they are player assets. This can cause children to catch the virus sooner.
If your cat is going out on the street frequently, you should definitely do without interrupting the veterinarian checks, in addition, you should be vaccinated when the time comes by acting in accordance with the cat vaccination schedule.
How does cat scratch disease go?
After playing with your cat in order not to get cat bite disease, you must wash your hands and other places where the cat comes into contact. If you encounter a cat bite, you should immediately clean the area with cold water.
Is cat scratch disease dangerous?
It is not a dangerous disease under normal circumstances. However, if the cat carries an excess of the Bartonella Henselae virus, a person may experience severe symptoms. It is a disease that can be more severe especially in people with low immune systems.
What causes cat scratch disease?
Although it is seen with a small lesion at first, when preventive treatments are not applied, cat bite disease can cause 'Lenfadenopathy' in the unilateral neck, armpit and groin area.