Guinea pigs and COVID-19
Does anyone know if cavies can get COVID-19? In our house one of us works in health care and is increasingly worried we might be exposed to the virus. While neither of us are in the population groups that appear to be most vulnerable to the virus, we don't want to pass anything on to our pigs. I did some googling for this but mostly came up with information specific to dogs and cats. Has anyone read or heard anything about coronavirus and cavies?
I read where it was fatal to guinea pigs, but they had been injected with it for experiments. Of course that made me sick to my stomach to read that, but there was nothing to say whether they can contract the virus through other means. I am going to go ahead and say that you should take every precaution to avoid passing it on to your pets.
Wash your hands and arms with warm water and soap before and after handling them. If you have symptoms, don't handle them. Get someone to take care of them until your symptoms pass or you test negative for the virus. Keep your place and their habitat clean and sanitary. Consult your vet if you have any questions or concerns.
Wash your hands and arms with warm water and soap before and after handling them. If you have symptoms, don't handle them. Get someone to take care of them until your symptoms pass or you test negative for the virus. Keep your place and their habitat clean and sanitary. Consult your vet if you have any questions or concerns.
I had been wondering the same thing. We have just tried to be doubly cautious when it come sto washing any veggies as well as washing hands before and after handling then as Renonvxsparky suggests. Thats a lot of washing though as we pet them quite a bit.
I have also been trying to enforce a no outdoor shoes to be worn inside policy, that's something I have always done ever since i was a kid but it seems that not everyone does it, so I get some odd looks when I mention it to some of our visitors.
I have also been trying to enforce a no outdoor shoes to be worn inside policy, that's something I have always done ever since i was a kid but it seems that not everyone does it, so I get some odd looks when I mention it to some of our visitors.
I found this online which may be of some help
https://www.avma.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/covid-19-fa ... jdsRkq16ChO0
https://www.avma.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/covid-19-fa ... jdsRkq16ChO0
I can't stress washing your hands and using good personal hygiene enough. Hand sanitizer is not a suitable substitute for good hand washing. It is ok for the short term until you can get somewhere to properly wash up, but you cannot depend on it alone. Proper washing and hygiene is your best defense against any viral or bacterial infection.
My granddaughter is a liver transplant patient and on immunosuppressant so this is something that we know a lot about and practice all of the time, regardless of what's going around. We wash our hands at least a couple of dozen times a day.
The information I'm passing on came directly from the transplant center at Stanford University. You can't wash your hands too much. Hand sanitizer doesn't kill and totally remove pathogens from your hands. So without rinsing, you are just leaving any surviving pathogens on your hands along with the dead ones. Antibacterial soap kills most known pathogens. Those that are killed and those that aren't are washed away by the running water.
My granddaughter is a liver transplant patient and on immunosuppressant so this is something that we know a lot about and practice all of the time, regardless of what's going around. We wash our hands at least a couple of dozen times a day.
The information I'm passing on came directly from the transplant center at Stanford University. You can't wash your hands too much. Hand sanitizer doesn't kill and totally remove pathogens from your hands. So without rinsing, you are just leaving any surviving pathogens on your hands along with the dead ones. Antibacterial soap kills most known pathogens. Those that are killed and those that aren't are washed away by the running water.
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bpatters
- And got the T-shirt
Actually, Renonvsparky, it's my understanding that all antibacterial soap does is create antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. It's not strong enough to kill anything. Here's a link from the FDA: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/antibacterial ... ap-and-water.
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ItsaZoo
- Supporter in 2022
I had heard about the problems with triclosan, and the antibacterial products were getting out of hand, like antibacterial window cleaner. I'm not sure why I would need to kill bacteria on windows.
I do think alcohol-based anti-bacterial dish soap and hand soap would be appropriate in areas where many people share work spaces or kitchen areas. At work, there were about 40 people who shared a coffee counter, brought food in and had it sitting out for everyone, shared copiers, etc. We had an employee with COPD and other health issues. Not everyone washes their hands long enough or as thorough as they should, so I could see where antibacterials might be beneficial.
I do think alcohol-based anti-bacterial dish soap and hand soap would be appropriate in areas where many people share work spaces or kitchen areas. At work, there were about 40 people who shared a coffee counter, brought food in and had it sitting out for everyone, shared copiers, etc. We had an employee with COPD and other health issues. Not everyone washes their hands long enough or as thorough as they should, so I could see where antibacterials might be beneficial.
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bpatters
- And got the T-shirt
The antibacterials just don't have enough power to do anything. One study found that it took nine hours of exposure to an antibacterial soap with triclosan to equal the cleaning power of a good 20-second handwashing. People should skip the antibacterial stuff and just wash their hands thorougly with regular soap and water, and rinse very well.
Now that you mention it, I remember watching on Mythbusters where they compared regular soap with antibacterial soap. Regular soap is better, but it doesn't work by itself. The running water works with it and together, they are the best way to get your hands clean. We've made it through every epidemic and managed to get through the last 9 years since the liver transplant without any infections by following Stanford's instructions about washing our hands. I believe it's safe to say that it works.
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Sef
- I dissent.
"I have avoided them myself because of bacterial resistance."
Same here.
When my husband was in the hospital for months following a very difficult spinal surgery and he developed C-Diff, everybody coming into or leaving his room had to be very meticulous about handwashing. I don't know what was in the soap dispensers, but it smelled pretty strong. After weeks and months of washing multiple times a day, my hands were a raw mess. It did instill in me the importance of thorough handwashing, though, and I've tried to be very careful about it ever since.
Same here.
When my husband was in the hospital for months following a very difficult spinal surgery and he developed C-Diff, everybody coming into or leaving his room had to be very meticulous about handwashing. I don't know what was in the soap dispensers, but it smelled pretty strong. After weeks and months of washing multiple times a day, my hands were a raw mess. It did instill in me the importance of thorough handwashing, though, and I've tried to be very careful about it ever since.
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ItsaZoo
- Supporter in 2022
My co-worker with COPD was always bringing anti-bacterial hand soap for our kitchen area at work. Her doctor told her to use it. She had trouble breathing on a good day, I can’t imagine how she’s coping now.
C-Diff is scary. My mom had that after antibiotic treatment for a serious cat bite. She had to have daily antibiotic treatment as an out patient because her mean cat bit her in the back of her leg. The antibiotics knocked out the good gut bacteria and she ended up with C-Diff. Then the state health department contacted her to get the details for the infectious diseases database. What a nightmare.
C-Diff is scary. My mom had that after antibiotic treatment for a serious cat bite. She had to have daily antibiotic treatment as an out patient because her mean cat bit her in the back of her leg. The antibiotics knocked out the good gut bacteria and she ended up with C-Diff. Then the state health department contacted her to get the details for the infectious diseases database. What a nightmare.
We all had a different feeling flu back in early December time frame. It just felt different. It lingered on longer than the regular flu we have had in the past. It could have been the coronavirus now that I think back on it. The symptoms we had were the same as what they list for it. It spread pretty quickly as 3 of us all came down with it on the same day. We executed our normal flu protocol quickly to stop it from spreading and isolated those of us who came down with it at our house while the healthy members of the family stayed at my son in law's place. It worked out well, especially for our immunosuppressed granddaughter.