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Hi, my name is Ann and I have two rats, Pinky and Roc. Unfortunately, one has chronic lung problems and the other tends to get sick often because of it. My vet spoke to a specialist and they believe it is Mycoplasma. I have 2 questions concerning this:
1) my friend is supposed to watch them while I'm away and she has a cat, can this transfer to the cat? If so are there precautions which can prevent this?
2) I am studying neuroscience in school and I am going to be working with lab rats this summer. Can I transfer the illness from home to the lab rats? How can I prevent this? If I had them stay somewhere else in the summer (if it was necessary) how do I make sure I am not carrying the disease so that it doesn't transfer?
Thank you very much,
-Ann
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Dr. Marie replied:
You have asked some interesting questions!
Mycoplasma can be frustrating, as you know, and can definitely cause some chronic respiratory problems in rats.
There are some types of mycoplasma that can cause infections in cats. The good news, in your case though, is that most mycoplasma is extremely host specific. What that means is that the rat mycoplasma is extremely unlikely to affect the cat. Rats tend to get mycoplasma pulmonis. This type of mycoplasma is not known to cause illness in cats.
Mycoplasma is usually transmitted via aerosol particles. What that means, is that in order to be contagious from rat to rat, they generally have to be sharing the same airspace. It does not travel well on fomites (i.e. objects, clothing, your hands). Just to be certain, when you are at the lab, I would wash my hands before dealing with the rats there, but it would be very unlikely that you would transmit mycoplasma to the rats in the lab.
Hope that helps!
Dr. Marie.
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Customer reply:
Ok, thanks a lot,
it was really helpful!
-Ann
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Veterinarian, Dr. Marie created this site to be able to provide quick, accurate veterinary advice online. She would love to help with your pet's problem!
Dr. Marie is a veterinarian who practices in a busy animal hospital in Ottawa, Ontario. She created Ask A Vet Question as a resource for good, accurate veterinary advice online. Dr. Marie treats dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, and rats. She has been a vet since 1999.
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