hila <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
>hey list ,
>today I saw a program on the national geographic channel talking about
>diseases that are being spread by rodents
>as it was presented there , almost all kinds of rodents are carrying
>disease that can infect people.
>well , I have my gerbils over a year now , I was beaten a couple of times ,
>I am holding them, playing with them , they have touched almost
>everything in the house , and I am sure that a few times I forgot to wash
>my hands after touching them .
>I dont feel sick or anything and I guess you didn't get anything from your
>gerbils also .
>but yet , after seeing this program I became a little worried .
>things where I live (Israel) aren't so quiet anyway .. so the last thing I need
>now is getting some dangerous disease from my gerbils .
>what is your opinion ? since most of you are much more experienced in
>gerbils then I am , I will sleep better at night knowing there is no danger .
>
>thanks ,
> hila
Are your gerbils domesticated Mongolian Gerbils or a a native Israeli
species?
If they are Mongolians, there is only one record of infectious disease
being caught from them in the medical literature. This is rat-bite fever
and it is highly unlikely that you would catch this as even wild rats
very rarely carry the disease in most regions.
If they are native species it would depend on how far separated they are
from their wild relatives. Once caged animals are domesticated it is
difficult for them to get infected with wild diseases because they
simply do not come into contact with infectious animals.
--
Julian
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
National Gerbil Society
http://www.gerbils.co.uk/
