What diseases do opossums carry?

When you think about wild animals like opossums, even though they seem harmless and pleasant to see, your will most likely dread the possibility that the animal you've found roaming through your estate carries an infectious disease. A lot of the time, even healthy looking animals can be really sick and infectious. Even animals that show signs of illness on the outside may be extremely sick and dangerous. Also, being sick can make an animal more aggressive and hostile that it usually is. Besides, there is always a risk that a sick animal might spread the disease to your pets or farm animals. After all, animals frequently come in contact with one another, and they can transmit diseases amongst them through bites, scratches and saliva. You might be wondering if opossums can truly carry and spread infectious diseases?



When confronted with wild animals, most people fear rabies the most. Rabies is spread through animal’s bodily fluids, like blood and saliva. Animals spread rabies through bites and scratches, and this, way, the disease can also spread on humans. However, opossums are not likely to carry or spread rabies. In fact, they are considered to be amongst most rabies-immune animals. This means that, when it comes to possums, rabies is not a disease you should fear. There are, however, plenty of other infectious diseases to watch out for when it comes to possums.

Opossums can spread many diseases through their feces, urine and saliva. Opossums can spread EPM, which is a dangerous neurological disease that can affect horses. They can also spread leptospirosis, which manifests in symptoms that resemble flu, like coughing and fever. This disease can also affect internal organs. Possums can also spread salmonella through their feces, which is a hard and painful bacteria to recover from. It manifests in massive vomiting and diarrhea. Although young people and adults manage to recover successfully from this illness, children and elderly may find themselves in extreme danger from this disease.

Another dangerous illness possums can spread is called Tularemia. The diseases manifests itself in symptoms such as problems with glands and respiratory problems. In some cases, the ones who are inflicted can even suffer from ulcers on their body. To conclude, even though possums don’t spread any severe and lethal disease, their bites, scratches and feces can be extremely infectious. For this reason, it is recommended to avoid getting into direct contact with these animals.

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