Rabies in hamsters symptoms danger to humans

How can a hamster become infected?

If the owner of a hamster practices walks in the fresh air, where the animal can come into contact with other animals, it is necessary to make sure that his “interlocutors” are in good health. In case of contact with other pets, such as cats or dogs, that take independent walks outside, it is necessary to take them to the veterinarian and receive the necessary vaccinations to completely eliminate the possibility of contracting rabies.

Very rarely, animals can be infected with rabies by the seller himself, who does not even know about it. When purchasing rodents, pay attention to their behavior and appearance. Cases of selling an unhealthy hamster come down to literally a single story, so there is no need to worry about the seller’s dishonesty. We'll talk about how to identify signs of rabies in hamsters below. In the meantime, here’s a short educational excursion into the phenomenon called “rabies.”

Does it happen to hamsters?

Hamsters, being pets, do not get rabies - this is what doctors say. However, there are situations where this virus can be transmitted from another infected animal, such as a cat or rat. But such cases are extremely rare.

In order for a pet to become infected with rabies, a favorable environment is needed: open wounds, cuts.

If a hamster was purchased from a pet store, it a priori cannot suffer from any diseases. Everything that has been said applies to both the Djungarian and the ordinary animal. And yet, if an animal is infected, you can find out about it by specific symptoms.

Let's figure it out: what is rabies?

Translated from Latin, the disease means “fear of water” and is characterized by an increased degree of danger, since the infection provokes death. Rabies is manifested by inflammatory processes in parts of the brain of animals or humans. It is transmitted along with saliva that ends up in the body as a result of the bite of an infected animal. The infection begins a rapid journey through the nervous system, approaching the salivary glands and parts of the brain, whose functions undergo severe disturbances. Death occurs from cardiac arrest or from internal asphyxia.

A retrospective look at the virus

The infection was first recorded in dogs and described by Democritus back in the 5th century BC, and already in the 1st century AD, the rabies virus was discovered in humans, giving it the definition of hydrophobia. The disease is transmitted easily and quickly from animals to humans through bites. At first, it was recommended to cauterize wounds to prevent infection on the surface of the wound. Only at the end of the 19th century was the first vaccine against the rabies virus developed.

Modern medicine uses this development, combining it with two anti-rabies drugs: serum and immunoglobulin. The doctor injects deep into the wound and injects the substance into the soft tissue around the wound. The high effectiveness of the vaccine depends on the time of seeking help after bites. Accordingly, the sooner a bitten person is vaccinated, the more likely the success of recovery. The situation is similar for pets: a problem noticed in time will allow your pet to be successfully treated.

Just a decade ago, the dangerous virus was considered an incurable disease, and after the first symptoms appeared, hopes for recovery were zero. Innovations in the field of medicine have made it possible to step forward and doctors are happy to record cases of recovery at the symptomatic stage. We cannot say that the disease has been completely defeated; it still remains one of the most dangerous infectious diseases of the body, because out of 37 people, only 5 people were lucky enough to be successfully cured. After being bitten, especially by street or wild animals, do not neglect going to the hospital or veterinary clinic, which can subsequently save the health and life of you and your rodent.

What are the chances of getting sick

For reference: over 5 years, only 3 cases of rabies disease in hamsters are known.

Fortunately, according to experts, rodents cannot become infected with rabies at home. This requires contact with another sick creature. You don’t bring animals with rabies into your home, much less put them in your pet’s cage. Therefore, there is practically no chance, only if you bring an already infected individual into the house. There was a scandal in the press that hamsters were bought at the market, which later turned out to be sick with rabies. Unfortunately, buyers were not warned. As a result of this, everyone who was at home, including children, was bitten by the hamster. The disease is transmitted through saliva through a bite. Fortunately, people realized in time that something was wrong when the animals died a few days later. We went to the clinic, where rabies was confirmed and treatment began. This is an isolated case, as I have never seen such information again. Even if a pet behaves aggressively, this does not mean that it is sick. Especially after the purchase, when he is in a stressful state for several days during the move.

Territorial distribution

Many species of living beings in nature are capable of supporting the persistence and spread of infection. The United States and Canada are famous for the widespread incidence of the disease in raccoons, foxes, jackals and skunks. Many species of bats carry the rabies virus, which can infect others in African countries, Australia, and areas of Europe and Asia.

The typology of rabies is divided into two types - natural and urban foci of spread. In nature, frequent carriers are foxes, wolves, arctic foxes, bats or mongooses. The urban environment is dominated by cats, dogs and farm animals.

It is noteworthy that there is not a single case of rabies among rodents with subsequent transmission of the virus to humans. However, there is an unconfirmed theory that rodents may be reservoirs for carrying and perpetuating the infection, which are distinguished by their ability to avoid death for several days after infection.

In matters of protection against the rabies virus, it is necessary to take an immediate response to bites, and pets must be vaccinated to eliminate the threat of the disease. This approach is explained not only by the danger of the disease, but by its widespread prevalence, since only Antarctica and some island territories, which include Japan, Malta and Cyprus, as well as New Zealand, are protected from infection. Surprisingly, the infection has never been recorded in Finland, Sweden, Portugal and Spain.

Rabies in hamsters, symptoms, causes of infection, consequences of a bite

Domestic hamsters are amazing, very clean and completely unpretentious pets to keep. Based on this, most often parents buy them for their children. During periods of illness or injury, these furry rodents also carefully monitor their appearance. Rabies in hamsters is one of the most dangerous diseases for both the rodent and its owners.

Symptoms of rabies in hamsters

Most often, parents who decide to buy a little furry friend for their child have very reasonable questions: do pets such as hamsters get rabies? How do you know if an animal is sick? Of course, when parents buy a rodent for a child, they worry whether the furry friend given to the child will become a threat to the baby’s health.

If you are just planning to give a gift to your child, then you should familiarize yourself with such important information about hamsters that it is advisable to know before bringing the animal into your home. So does rabies occur in hamsters and is it possible to recognize the disease yourself?

Diagnosing such a terrible disease requires time, which is not at all available, because simply within a short period of time (several days) after infection the rodent will die. Today, in veterinary medicine there are no tests capable of identifying one of the most terrible diseases in animals. An accurate diagnosis of rabies can only be obtained after an autopsy.

Do hamsters get rabies? Myth and reality

The most common myth about rabies in domestic hamsters is that in these animals, signs of the disease include their aggressive behavior - the rodent begins to bite.

This fact is not a sign of a terrible disease; most likely the animal is not accustomed to being handled and such aggression is a demonstration of the rodent’s distrust of its owner.

Perhaps you did something wrong, picked it up incorrectly, or hurt the animal.

The next myth about rabies in hamsters is that vaccinated rodents that have not had direct contact with other animals are unlikely to become infected with rabies. But it’s worth taking into account that:

There is NO rabies vaccination for hamsters!
protect your pet from contact with other animals that may bite him while being infected with rabies - and no vaccination will be needed, because you can only become infected with rabies through a bite.
A hamster infected with a disease such as rabies is quite a rarity.

Hamsters rarely get rabies! Animals can become infected with this disease only if there are any infected pets in the house.

It follows from this that if your hamster is infected with a terrible disease, and there are no other pets in the house, you purchased it already infected.

To avoid such a misfortune, when purchasing an animal at the market or in a store, concentrate on the appearance and condition of the rodent you are purchasing.

Symptoms of rabies visible to the eye

Thus, in order for a domestic rodent to become infected, it must be bitten by an infected fellow. If your pet has not had contact with anyone recently, the question of illness disappears by itself.

In veterinary practice, there are no cases of human rabies infection from the bite of a domestic animal.

Preventing infection with the rabies virus is to protect your pet from any contact with wild relatives or other animals that may be carriers of the virus:

keeping a pet in a cage;
do not let your rodent go for a walk without a special walking ball;
if you keep a rodent in an enclosure, install strong walls in it to protect the animal from the penetration of uninvited guests.

Rodents are also NOT subject to routine preventive examinations. It will be enough for the owner to examine the condition of his pet’s teeth, eyes, claws and the condition of his pet’s coat every day. When the first signs of any deviations from generally accepted norms appear, immediately contact a medical specialist - a rodentologist.

Signs of rabies in hamsters

If the animal begins to show aggression and bites, you should not suspect it of rabies, since it may not yet be accustomed to good behavior, or the owner, without knowing it, has caused physical pain to the rodent or accidentally offended the small pet. In this case, biting is the only way to protect the animal from attacks.

The first symptoms of rabies appear as follows:

the animal’s legs began to twitch, resembling convulsions;
profuse salivation begins and the muzzle becomes constantly wet;
The animal's body turned out to be paralyzed.

If you notice one of the symptoms in your pet, immediately contact a veterinary clinic, where they can make an accurate diagnosis after an immunological test. If foci of infection are detected in the brain, the animal will have to be euthanized, otherwise it will die from suffocation. It is no longer possible to cure a pet in such cases, and death will occur within a few days.

Rabies in hamsters: signs and causes of infection, consequences of a bite

Rabies is a particularly dangerous infectious disease. Any warm-blooded creature can become infected - all types of animals, birds, humans. Infection usually occurs through saliva, that is, through bites or eating from the same bowl with a sick animal. The rabies virus causes inflammation of the brain (encephalitis).

Rabies is transmitted by a bite

Do hamsters get rabies?

Cases of rabies in hamsters are rare, but, nevertheless, it is necessary to carefully monitor the health of the rodent. It is difficult for a hamster to become infected with rabies at home, so the disease is most often discovered after purchasing a new animal.

In this case, it is likely that the rodent was bitten by a rabies carrier. Therefore, you should approach the purchase of an animal with all responsibility. Since hamsters themselves tend to bite, it is important to pay attention to the animal’s health when choosing a pet.

Rabies is incurable; the virus multiplies in the nerve cells of the spinal cord and brain, which leads to severe impairment, paralysis and death.

Important . Rabies infection occurs only through direct contact, if the saliva of a sick animal penetrates wounds or mucous membranes.

Symptoms of rabies in hamsters, visible to the eye

There are symptoms by which an attentive owner can determine that a pet is sick.

When infected with rabies, an animal can be either overly aggressive or uncharacteristically affectionate. It is important to know your pet's temperament in order to determine deviations from the norm ;
There may be a loss of coordination, aimless walking around the cage;
the appetite is perverted, the animal eats inedible objects;
shortly before death, paralysis of the pharynx may occur, resulting in the release of a large amount of saliva;
Before death, convulsions may occur and a coma may occur.

Important. Rabies can occur in a hidden (latent) form, so in this case sudden death of the animal is possible.

The owner must know the peculiarities of the anatomical and physiological norms of hamsters, so as not to confuse behavior that is normal for rodents with a pathological condition.

Is your hamster acting strange? The bite site must be washed

Actions when bitten

Since rodents bite quite often for various reasons, you should not run for a rabies vaccination every time.

For example, Djungarian hamsters, not accustomed to handling, can bite new owners for the purpose of self-defense. A hamster bite is a serious and painful wound in itself .

Therefore, the bite site must be immediately washed with clean water and soap, treated with hydrogen peroxide or other antiseptic agents.

Important. More often, hamsters bite children, so it is worth explaining to the child the rules of communication with a pet, and gradually accustoming the animal to your hands.

Bite danger

Even if we put aside the threat of contracting rabies from a hamster, its bite is an unpleasant incident. The rodent has a unique structure of teeth, so the wounds are deep and serious. Various microbes and bacteria can get into them, which poses some danger to humans. In any case, careful treatment of the wound is necessary.

Important. If a hamster bites a child, you should consult a doctor in any case.

But if a rodent shows alarming signs or has been in contact with a suspicious animal, you should immediately consult a doctor.

First aid for a rabid hamster bite

If you are bitten by a hamster with obvious signs of rabies, you must take immediate action. A sick animal should be isolated and a veterinarian should be called.

The veterinarian will examine the pet, and in most cases it will be placed in a ten-day quarantine, during which it will be monitored for clinical signs of rabies. The injured person should immediately go to the hospital for help.

In a medical facility, the doctor will determine the degree of danger from the bite, provide first aid, and prescribe treatment.

If a person is bitten by a suspicious animal, repeated administration of rabies vaccine is indicated. If the hamster does not die within 10 days, treatment can be stopped, since the incubation period for rabies is 10 days.

Important . Vaccination is carried out no later than 14 days after the bite.

Since the course of treatment is not entirely safe, during vaccination it is imperative to adhere to the doctor’s instructions - for example, not to drink alcohol.

The hamster should not be allowed outside the house

Prevention

It is important to know that there is no rabies vaccine for rodents. But a rabid hamster is an extremely rare occurrence, which is reassuring.

To prevent rabies in domestic rodents, the owner must observe the following measures:

Conclusion

Hamsters are very good pets that do not require much investment. You just need to take into account their individual characteristics, such as their tendency to bite, and try to gradually tame the rodent. Of course, rabies is a terrible disease, but it is still extremely unlikely that a hamster will be infected with it. The main thing for the owner is to follow all preventive measures.

Source: https://zverek.org/beshenstvo-u-homyakov.html

How often are hamsters exposed to the virus?

It is very difficult for a domestic animal to become infected with the rabies virus, since this will require a bite from one of the pet’s fellow animals. If the hamster lives alone, then the owner does not have to worry about his health. If you plan to create a pair for a hamster and place it in a neighbor’s cage, for example, for mating, then you need to make sure that the new one is in absolute health.

Veterinarians are quick to reassure those who have already become the proud owner of a hamster or are just planning to do so: no cases of the disease in domestic rodents, especially decorative breeds, have been recorded. Therefore, feel free to have little pets, but do not forget to take care of their health and monitor the animals’ contacts. In this case, rabies will bypass them.

Bite danger

Putting aside the threat of contracting rabies from the bite of a pet hamster, we note that wounds inflicted by a pet’s teeth can still pose a danger. The threat lies in the peculiar structure of the animal’s teeth; the hamster bites quite painfully and at the same time inflicts very deep and serious wounds into which various microbes and bacteria penetrate.

In order to prevent this, immediately after the bite, wash the wound itself with hydrogen peroxide, and treat the skin around it with iodine or brilliant green. One of the best options would be to immediately seek help at the hospital.

If a rodent has bitten a child, then contacting a specialist is necessary.

In a medical institution, the doctor will try to determine the degree of threat from the bite, provide not only first aid and consultation, but also, if necessary, prescribe treatment. If the doctor has prescribed a course of medicinal drugs for rabies, their use can be stopped if the hamster has not died within 2 weeks after the bite.

As part of preventive work, you should explain to your child the rules for communicating with domestic rodents, so that such situations do not recur in the future. To understand the reason for the aggressive behavior of the ward, you should pay more attention to him - accustom him to handling.

Rabies in hamsters is quite rare, and a pet can only become infected from another animal, so the best prevention would be to minimize your pet’s contact with other rodents. For beginning hamster lovers, in order not to confuse pathologies with common phenomena for hamsters, it will be useful to familiarize yourself with the anatomy and physiology of domestic fluffies.

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