One person was hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported. Salmonella is a serious bacterial infection that results in gastrointestinal distress and can develop into a life-threatening condition if infection spreads beyond the intestines, according to the CDC. Of seven patients interviewed by the CDC, four said they had been in contact with pet guinea pigs in the week before showing symptoms.
While the last case in the outbreak was reported in December, the CDC reminds guinea pig owners to wash their hands after any contact with the pets or their habitats, to avoid playing with the rodents in a manner that could cause bites and to clean pet cages and supplies outside, if possible. Guinea pigs are only the latest probable source of a salmonella outbreak.
In the past few months, the herbal supplement kratom , chicken salad and dog food have all been blamed for spreading the infection. Write to Jamie Ducharme at jamie. Getty Images. By Jamie Ducharme. Get our Health Newsletter. A metabolic disorder associated with improper calcium levels may also occur during pregnancy. Ovarian cysts are very common in female guinea pigs over 1 year of age. The cysts usually occur in both ovaries, but occasionally only one ovary is affected. Signs include hair loss over the abdomen, loss of appetite, and loss of energy.
To confirm the diagnosis, your veterinarian may use ultrasonography or x-rays. The recommended treatment is surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus spaying. If left untreated, the cysts may continue to grow and could potentially burst. Bordetella bacteria can infect guinea pig genitals and can be spread by sexual contact.
Infection can cause infertility, stillbirth, or sudden death of guinea pig fetuses in the uterus. Dystocia difficulty giving birth is caused by the normal stiffening of the tough fibrous cartilage that joins the 2 pubic bones. Stiffening of this cartilage, the pubic symphysis, limits the spread of the pubic bones. If the symphysis has not been stretched by a previous birth, the female will be unable to deliver her offspring normally.
Cesarean sections are very risky for guinea pigs and the survival rate for the mother is poor. The safest option is to prevent pregnancy altogether by housing male and female guinea pigs separately or by spaying and neutering them. Female guinea pigs that are used for breeding should be bred for the first time before they reach adulthood.
Skin problems in guinea pigs are often first noticed as patches of hair loss. Several underlying problems can lead to hair loss, including infestations of fur mites or lice, ringworm, or fighting between incompatible animals.
Another skin problem, pododermatitis, affects the feet. Severe infestation by mites may cause hair loss or itching. Some types of mites cause no signs. Others cause hair loss but do not seem to affect the skin, and still others burrow into the skin and may cause intense itching, hair loss, and skin inflammation. This latter type of mite usually infects the inner thighs, shoulders, and neck. The skin underneath the affected fur may be dry or oily and thickened or crusty. In severely affected animals, the affected areas may become infected, which can cause the animals to lose weight, have low energy, or run around the cage.
Left untreated, convulsions and death may result. Guinea pigs catch fur mites from other guinea pigs or from contaminated items such as bedding. Mite infestations are treated with injections or topical medications. Guinea pigs that are infested with lice do not usually have signs, but in severe cases lice can cause itching, hair loss, and inflammation of the skin around the neck and ears.
Treatment is usually with topical medication. Fungal skin infection ringworm in guinea pigs is most often caused by Trichophyton mentagrophytes. This infection is contagious to people and animals directly or through contaminated objects like bedding.
The primary sign of ringworm is the presence of bald, scaly patches, usually starting on the face nose, around the eyes, and ears and head. The bald patches may be flaky, crusty, or red. The disease may also spread to the back. Affected areas can become inflamed and more severely infected. Your veterinarian can diagnose ringworm by culturing hair samples for fungal growth or in some cases by shining an ultraviolet light on affected skin.
Ringworm usually goes away on its own in healthy guinea pigs. However, treatment speeds healing and reduces the chance the infection will spread to others. Treatment consists of several weeks of oral antifungal medication and sometimes also antifungal shampoos or rinses. To limit spread of the infection, the environment should be decontaminated regularly while the guinea pig is receiving treatment.
Ringworm is highly contagious to humans and other animals. If handling an infected guinea pig is necessary, you should wear disposable gloves or wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water after handling. Hair loss in guinea pigs has a number of possible causes. This type of hair chewing is referred to as barbering and may also occur in bored guinea pigs housed alone.
Alopecia caused by barbering tends to occur in patches, possibly with evidence of bite marks or skin inflammation underneath the fur.
Barbering may be prevented by separating affected animals, minimizing stress, weaning baby guinea pigs from their mothers early, and feeding animals long-stemmed hay. Young guinea pigs that are weaning from their mothers may have hair thinning as their coat changes to coarser adult fur.
This footpad inflammation, or pododermatitis, is usually caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria that enter the footpads through cuts or scrapes. Factors that increase the risk of infection include obesity, wire or abrasive cage flooring, poor sanitation, and injury.
Over time, pododermatitis sometimes called bumblefoot can lead to serious complications such as swelling of the lymph nodes, arthritis, inflammation of the tendons, and buildup of a protein called amyloid in internal organs. Your veterinarian can diagnose this condition by examining your guinea pig and possibly performing laboratory tests.
Treatment consists of housing the guinea pig in a smooth-floored cage with soft bedding, improving sanitation, and administering medical treatment depending on the severity of the condition. Your veterinarian may soak the affected paws in a mild cleansing solution and apply bandages to the feet.
Some animals need antibiotics and pain medications. In some cases, the condition does not respond to therapy. Animals with severe pododermatitis may require amputation of the affected area to avoid more serious complications.
Some guinea pig diseases affect more than one body system. These are also known as multisystemic or generalized diseases. Lymph nodes are glands located throughout the body that help fight infection. The lymph nodes around the neck often become enlarged or inflamed in guinea pigs. The usual cause of this problem is a bacterial infection, most often with Streptococcus equi subsp.
The infected lymph nodes may become swollen and filled with pus abscesses , sometimes only on one side. The infection can spread and cause ear infection, head tilt, or inflammation of the sinuses or eyes. Infection spreads between guinea pigs through bite wounds, cuts or scrapes in the skin or in the mouth, sneezing, coughing, or genital contact.
Your veterinarian can diagnose this condition by examination and laboratory tests. Antibiotics can be used, but antibiotics alone may not eliminate the infection. Affected lymph nodes may need to be surgically removed. Abscesses can be surgically drained. To help prevent infection of the lymph nodes, avoid using harsh or irritating bedding or food.
Overgrown teeth and jaws that do not close properly should be corrected. Infections of the respiratory tract should be treated. Although occurrences are rare, Salmonella bacteria can infect guinea pigs. Some signs of infection include inflammation of the eye, fever, lack of energy, poor appetite, rough hair coat, enlarged spleen and liver, and swollen lymph nodes in the neck.
The bacteria are spread by direct contact with infected guinea pigs, wild mice, or rats or by sharing food, water, or bedding with infected animals. Fresh vegetables may also carry Salmonella. Because an animal that is treated may still continue to infect other animals even when it does not seem sick, treatment may not be recommended. Guinea pigs can spread Salmonella infection to humans by direct contact, so appropriate sanitation measures such as wearing disposable gloves and washing hands thoroughly should be taken when handling any sick guinea pig.
Guinea pigs occasionally become infected with Yersinia pseudotuberculosis bacteria through contaminated food, bedding, or water. If a guinea pig becomes infected, the illness may take several courses: 1 infection may spread to the bloodstream and cause sudden death; 2 infected guinea pigs may lose weight, develop diarrhea, and die over the course of 3 to 4 weeks; 3 lymph nodes in the neck or shoulder may enlarge; or 4 your pet may be infected without seeming sick.
Veterinarians diagnose this infection by laboratory tests and examination of the sick guinea pig. All guinea pigs that are infected with these bacteria or that have lived in close quarters with an infected guinea pig must be euthanized, and the living quarters must be thoroughly sanitized and disinfected. Younger guinea pigs may develop skin tumors or leukemia a cancer of the blood , but most types of cancer are not common in guinea pigs until they are 4 to 5 years old.
Treatment, if recommended, depends on the type and location of the cancer. Even with something like strep, if a colony of strep is already used to living in a guinea pig, it would much prefer to stay in a guinea pig.
In most cases, Bishop said the people who catch diseases from their pets are immunosuppressed. That is, they had an elevated risk of getting sick to begin with. In general, Bishop said, basic precautions such as hand washing should be enough to prevent sharing diseases with your guinea pig and vice versa, even among people who are, say, taking drugs that make them more susceptible to infection.
But even in those circumstances, basic precautions such as wearing a face mask like the kind you can buy at the hardware store or gloves and making regular use of soap should be sufficient to keep you, your family, and your pets safe, Bishop said. Tags: cavies , cavy , eye infections , guinea pig , guinea pig health , guinea pigs , influenza , ringworm , strep infection.
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