A Man Contracted A Particularly Dangerous Infection From His Cat

A man contracted a particularly dangerous infection from his cat

An elderly man contracted a dangerous disease from a domestic cat, such a clinical case is described by the New England Journal of Medicine. Cats are usually associated with the risk of carrying toxoplasmosis, but this is a rarer and more dangerous condition.

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An elderly man contracted a dangerous disease from a domestic cat, such a clinical case is described by the New England Journal of Medicine. Cats are usually associated with the risk of carrying toxoplasmosis, but this is a rarer and more dangerous condition.

The 68-year-old Missouri resident, whose name has not been disclosed, began with a week-long fever, followed by swelling on the right side of his neck that then increased over the course of two months.

About two months before the events described, the man's cat died, according to veterinarians, from feline leukemia. This diagnosis was not confirmed by laboratory.

At the hospital, the man was diagnosed with bubonic tularemia. This is a particularly dangerous infection, which currently has a limited prevalence. Its main natural reservoirs are rats, birds, less often domestic animals. Bubonic tularemia can be transmitted to humans in several ways, including insect bites and direct contact with an infected animal. Human infections are rare.

The disease is caused by the bacterium Francisellatularensis and affects the skin, eyes, lymph nodes and lungs. Symptoms usually include soreness and swelling of the lymph nodes, fever, chills, headaches, and fatigue. Without timely treatment, a person can die.

The main treatment for tularemia is antibiotics. In the described case, the patient received them for four weeks. Within five days, the size of the lymph nodes began to decrease, after three weeks they became normal.