| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Frewen |
Can I catch anything nasty from dirty fleece?Just wondering - been up to my elbows in the kitchen all weekend scouring fleece and some of it was - well *very dirty*.Then it occured to me that I might be open to contaigion? Can I catch any disease from sheep dags? Should I bleach my kitchen now? Am I worrying unnecessarily? |
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| sean |
You can catch a couple of nasty diseases from sheep. Dunno whether you can get them from fleece though. | ||||
| Rob R |
How wet was the fleece/dags? | ||||
| Frewen |
Sopping wet - I was washing it | ||||
| Rob R |
I mean before you started washing it. | ||||
| Frewen |
No - it was dry before I started 
please tell me I'm not going to contract anything horrible 
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| Rob R |
Unlikely, the most common bacteria lurking in there would be clostridia (which, among other things, causes tetanus) but once dried out or exposed to sunlight they are easily killed. Any zoonotic viruses are unlikely to persist away from the sheep in the fleece for such a length of time too, I think you're pretty safe. | ||||
| marigold |
I spent hours fiddling with dirty fleece at Xmas and am here to tell the tale  . I did wash my hands very thoroughly afterwards though  . I figured shearers handle sheep and fleece without wearing gloves, so it was probably OK as long as I washed properly before handling food. Though of course I may be being eaten from the insides by narsty things as I speak! 
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| Frewen |
You're fab Rob - thanks
Just out of interest - what can you catch from fresh wet dirty fleece then? |
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| cab |
Presumably if you're handling these beasts then you keep up to date on tetanus jabs?
Plenty of other spore forming bacteria that could be present, but not likely that they're going to cause disease. Good hygeine after handling would still seem prudent though. |
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| Blacksmith |
Seem to remember something call "Murrain(sp?)" also known as "wool sorters disease" from my RoSPA training. | ||||
| Rob R |
Here's a run down: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/zoonoses/common.htm
It's not such a good idea to try taking the skin off your forearm while shearing though  The lanolin don't half sting.
Anyone working in farming of any kind should have the tet booster every ten years, which reminds me...
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| cab |
If I remember correctly (I suspect Rob will correct me if I'm wrong, he's pretty clued up on most of these things) then murrain is a general term for diseases caught like that, its a really archaic term. Think its things like pustules and spots, rather like the plague, but its any of a number of causative agents. Wool sorters disease is usually anthrax, where the spores on the hide are aerosolised by handling and breathed in. Rather unlikely unless the animal had anthrax, so you'd hope not to get it
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| Rob R |
cab: yup |
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| cab |
Generally I rekon its a good idea to keep up on your tetanus jabs whether or not you're working with animals. |
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| Rob R |
Definitely, you're far more likely to contract C. tetani from the soil than animals. | ||||
| toggle |
Can't find the thread, but i was advised that the stuff that affects preggers women wouldn't be a danger |
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| colour it green |
when i asked at the Drs for a booster they said they had phased them out and if you had the course of 3 or whatever it is in the begining then you have lifetime immunity and they only give you booster if you injure yourself in a mess sort of way (fork through foot sort of thing). there seems to be a lot of mixed messages about tetanus |
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| Helen_A |
DP was told last week he can no longer have a 'tetnus' booster... he now has to have the DTaP whether he likes it or not (he likes it not...)
Anyone have any thoughts on whether this is completely true, or simply down to the, um, usual mismanagement? Helen_A |
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| marigold |
What is DTaP? | ||||
| cab |
Diptheria, tetanus and persussis (I think, although I'd have to check if its diptheria, can't remember for sure). A more efficient combined vaccine; when I last had a tet booster, thats what I got. No obvious down side to this immediately springs to mind. |
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| marigold |
Thanks, cab. Does it matter if you've already had your diphtheria jabs? Is diphtheria becoming a threat again? I thought vaccination had more or less seen it off in this country. Looking up pertussis (whooping cough) I'm half wondering if that's what I had in 1996 when I had a violent six-week cough-til-you-puke illness  (one of the factors that set me off on the ME/CFS thing). Interesting...
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| Helen_A |
The problem is that he had Dip as a child and the manufacturers info is that having had the disease you should not have it in vaccine form...
Plus there is the 'why have the vaccine in that form when all you actually need to have is the Tetanus?' So does this mean that the practise is correct - that the tetanus alone is no longer available at all? Or just that the NHS doesn't offer it? |
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| marigold |
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100003090.html implies that a single tetanus vaccine was available in 2004, but google doesn't turn up much when you search for the product name. Have you asked NHS Direct? Or just phone your local private hospital to ask if they will do a single tetanus vaccination? | ||||
| cab |
Gosh, dunno. I think that you need to get proper professional advice on that one. |
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| Helen_A |
TY
Lol that's what I said to him.... but he's a ..... apparently I am at home all day with the resources to look it up for him so... 
Helen_A who is going to plant her lettuces now, and contemplate whether there is room for sweetcorn... |
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| RichardW |
I thought the advice now was that you can only ever have 3 tetnus shots & that if you regularly worked with animals / soil then as you are repeatedly exposed (& should then have a imunity already) to it the shot wont increase your natural dffenses anyway so dont bother having one?
Justme |
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| Rivermom |
If ever you are worried that something you have been doing has exposed you to infection, the first thing to do is make yourself a strong cup of thyme and mint tea. Then clean up the area you were working in with hot water and clove bud oil. Even viruses can't survive clove bud oil.
But in general, don't panic. Healthy humans are pretty disease resistant. |
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| tahir |
I ain't had one either |
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| katie |
I was told I didn't need another tetanus when I rolled up for my 10 year booster. when I said I worked with soil and animals though I was told that I was in an 'at risk' profession and therefore they'd give me one. I had to have the Dip, Polio three in one. Other people have been given different advice.....
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