Like many other
wild animals, skunks are known to carry a large
number of parasites and illnesses. Distemper is
on example of an illness that they carry, and
there are many parasites that can be quite
dangerous to you.
When you come in contact with the skunk, either
with direct contact or through its waste, these
parasites can get onto you and will start to
burrow into your skin, looking for a way to get
into your blood stream. From there they travel
to your digestive tract where they can cause
severe problems for you, to include vomiting,
diarrhea, and cramps. These can be quite serious
for sure.
One illness that many should worry a great deal
about is getting rabies from a skunk. Skunks are
known to have rabies, but does that mean that
all of them have this disease? The answer is no,
but you need to be careful anyway.
According to the United States government’s
figures, only about 20 percent of skunks have
rabies. That means that only one out of every
five that you come in contact with will carry
the disease. That may sound like good odds, but
when you are talking about rabies there is no
such thing as good odds, especially considering
that there is a one in five chance that if this
animal scratches or bites you that you will get
the disease.
Consider that if not treated right away, a
person will die from the disease. This means
that if you are bitten and contract the virus,
you usually have no longer than 48 hours to
begin the treatments. If you don’t, this is
always a fatal disease, the death is quite
brutal. It is not something that anyone will
want to endure.
What this tells you is that while the odds are
not great that a skunk will carry rabies, they
are good enough that staying away from the
animal is an absolute must. You simply cannot
put yourself at risk to this animal, and should
make sure that you do all you can to keep
yourself as safe as possible.
What you must also consider is that these
animals do carry all of these other diseases and
parasites. That means that even if it does not
have rabies, you are at a good risk to catch
something else that can make you quite sick.
This goes for your kids and pets as well.
If you are ever around a skunk, the best thing
to do is to try to get away as quickly as
possible. This way you remove the risk of
getting infected. If you are bitten, go to the
doctor right away. Do not wait at all. Be safe
and live. Read more:
Skunk
Control,
how to
kill skunks.
