We’re not tickling you with this one.
If you live in one of the 43 million households that have at least one feline, these new findings might give you “paws.”
As many as 1 in 15 cats carry a nasty parasite causing an infection dubbed beaver fever – and 1 in 5 of these strains can infect humans.
When humans catch it, beaver fever can cause painful gas, cramps, nausea, and watery or oily floating diarrhea up to five times a day.
Here’s what new research suggests about which cats are most likely to get it and which regions of the United States have the highest rates of beaver fever in cats.
What is beaver fever?
Medically known as giardiasis, this intestinal infection is caused by Giardia, a microscopic parasite that is spread through feces.
There are many different types of Giardia, each with a different species that they specialize in infecting, including cattle, pigs, dogs, cats, coyotes, and beavers. Yet only a minority of Giardia types can jump from animals to humans.
Often, people become infected by swallowing contaminated water or foods containing parasites. After the parasite was discovered in streams and lakes surrounded by beavers, Giardia received its nickname beaver fever.
But don’t just blame the animals. Giardia is easily spread from human to human through poorly washed hands that have been contaminated with feces during activities such as diaper changing or sexual intercourse.
About half of people who contract Giardia never have symptoms. To find out if you have it, doctors will need to do a special stool test. It may go away on its own, but doctors may prescribe antiparasitic medications.
It’s also important to note that your pet is unlikely to contract Giardia and other animals, like birds and chinchillas, are more likely to transmit Giardia to humans, according to the CDC.
What Kind of Cats Usually Develop This
Researchers had the unenviable task of sorting through nearly 158,000 cat poop samples from 49 states, Washington, D.C., and even five Canadian provinces.
Male cats were about 20% more likely to have Giardia than female cats and were also about 2% more likely to have a type of Giardia that could spread to humans.
Age and sterilization status also played a role. Overall, kittens less than a year old had the highest rate of Giardia, but unfixed kittens had 24% lower chances. However, for cats over a year old, the trend was reversed: unfixed cats were more than 60% more likely to have Giardia.
As cats aged, they were less likely to have a type of Giardia that could spread to humans.
The authors suggest that the link between very young cats, unfixed males and increased Giardia could be linked to more time spent outdoors and roaming.
Notably, summer months saw the lowest detection of Giardia, while winter saw the highest number of cats carrying Giardia that can spread to humans. This parasite does not survive long in hot, dry environments and thrives in cold, humid environments.
The authors also compared cats from different regions of the United States. They found that cats from the Midwest were 36% more likely to have Giardia than cats from the South, while cats from the Northeast and West did not differ significantly from cats in the South.
To avoid contracting Giardia from your dog or cat, the CDC recommends wearing gloves and washing hands after touching droppings, frequently cleaning pet items and litter boxes daily, bathing infected pets to remove fecal matter from their fur, and limiting pets’ access to outdoor water and potentially contaminated shared areas.
Gn Health
