The real risk of catching this infection from your cat is tiny!
TB and cats
The media's most recent scare mongering would have us all believe that we are going to catch TB from our favourite furry friends. Before you start worrying about cats replacing badgers as public enemy number one and the government announcing regional cat culls, take a moment to put things in perspective.
This is not the first, nor sadly will it be the last, time that this emotive topic has arisen. For this reason, I have compiled a collection of useful factual information for you to consider alongside the media hype. FACTS
It is certainly reasonable to conclude from these facts that cats and humans have been exposed to TB for a very long time from multiple sources. In fact, it is humans that are thought to have originally transmitted the infection to animals. It is little surprise that with over 9500 years of exposure to TB, today's science means we may be able to show TB transmitting the other way (from cat to human). FOOD FOR THOUGHT... We may be statistically more likely to catch TB from other people - especially if travelling through airports and/or to countries where the incidence of TB is high or if you live in areas of the UK with a higher than average immigrant population such as London and parts of the Home Counties. Useful Links |
Symptoms of
|