seahorse disease

Andyk28

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Someone told me that seahorses carry tuberculosis and that sticking your hand in the water or touching them could easily get you sick, is this true to any degree? please explain why or why not
 

Jay Hemdal

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Someone told me that seahorses carry tuberculosis and that sticking your hand in the water or touching them could easily get you sick, is this true to any degree? please explain why or why not

Half truth there. Seahorse frequently carry atypical Mycobacteria - fish tuberculosis. This is a chronic disease that can cause loss in fish, but usually only older animals. Here is the issue though - only a doctor should really dispense human health advice, so back this up with asking your physician:

If you have a break in your skin and if you have an immune disorder, you can become infected by this Mycobacterium. It causes granulomas in your hands and may give you a false positive on a human TB test. It isn't life threatening.

Here is an excerpt from my upcoming fish disease book:

While there are no reports of human diseases being transmitted to aquarium fish, aquarium fish can transmit diseases to people. A “Zoonosis” or “Zoonotic disease” is the medical term for a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Some, like rabies, are very serious. For other zoonotic diseases, the significance of the infection may be dependent upon the individual’s level of health.

Aside from eating raw fish (which can transmit worm parasites to people), all of the zoonotic diseases that aquarists need to be aware of are caused by bacteria. Groups known to be transmitted from marine aquariums to humans include Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Vibrio, and Mycobacterium.

The last one, Mycobacterium, tends to get the most “press.” The other three typically cause skin infections similar to the type doctors see in non-aquarium cases, but Mycobacterium infection is stubborn to treat and can cause a “false positive” in some human tuberculosis (TB) screening tests. Also called “swimming pool granuloma” and “fish handler’s disease,” atypical Mycobacterium can cause localized infections in the extremities of humans and, in some cases, results in a deep-seated infection that may require surgery. In other cases, the disease is self-limiting; it goes away on its own if given enough time.

As an aquarium owner, if you ever test positive for human TB, you need to ask your physician to screen for atypical TB. In most cases, serious cases of atypical Mycobacterium are seen only in people who have some other underlying health problem that makes them immune-compromised. The risk of infection from any aquarium bacterial zoonotic disease is minimal as long as a few safety precautions are taken.


Jay
 

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