[Gpdd] HEALTH: bacterial infection

[Penny Charlesworth]

Mieke,

This sounds like a particularly nasty illness and I hope that, now you have 
been correctly diagnosed, you will make a speedy recovery. Three months is a 
long time to wait.

I know of Yersinia but have never come across it in guinea pigs and my 
V.C.G.Richardson's "Diseases of Domestic Guinea Pigs" states that this is 
rarely seen.

The Guinea Pig Forum have a discussion on Yersinia. Here's the link.

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=40778

And back to the Richardson's Veterinary Practice book, this is an abridged 
version of what she says........

There is an acute and a chronic form of Yersinia ( pseudotuberculosis ), the 
acute form causing septicaemia and death within 48 hours. The chronic form 
causes a longer period of diarrhoea and weight loss and occasionally 
dysponea ( shortage of breath ) and coughing. Death often occurs after 3 - 4 
weeks.

Sometimes the disease can be contained in the cervical lymph nodes and in 
such cases the condition is not usually fatal.

She believes that there is no effective treatment and comments that the 
disease is transmitted to gps via wild birds and rodents, which have 
contaminated the gps' green foods. It can also be transmitted vertically 
from mother to babes. Yersinia is present in dust, soil and water. There is 
more but I have picked out the salient points. I could type out the rest of 
it if you want to read it.

There is no mention of a similarity to anything fungal so let us hope that 
your piggies have not succumbed to your illness. Their symptoms do not seem 
to match in any way.

Of course Yersinia pestis was responsible for the Black Death in Europe ( 
bubonic plague ) and we all know that this was caused by rats ( or rather 
the fleas that they carried ) but that's another story.

Please take very good care of yourself Mieke. Get well soon.

Penny and the concerned Piggyfriends.