Ever wondered if opossums carry diseases that could put you or your pets at risk? The truth is, yeah, they can carry a few illnesses, but honestly, they’re not a huge threat as long as you keep your distance and practice decent hygiene. Opossums can spread diseases like leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, and coccidiosis, mostly through their feces or urine.
Even though opossums can carry these diseases, they usually stay shy and steer clear of people. They only get defensive if they feel cornered or scared.
Understanding which diseases opossums might carry helps you stay safer when you see them around your home or yard.
If you know the risks, you can figure out what to do next time you spot an opossum nearby. Curious about what diseases they actually carry and how you can protect your family and pets? Let’s dig in.
Main Diseases Carried by Opossums
Opossums can carry several diseases that might affect you or your pets. These illnesses usually spread through contact with their urine, feces, or fleas.
Knowing how these diseases work helps you protect yourself and your animals.
Transmission and Zoonotic Risks
Opossums spread diseases through their waste and body fluids. You might catch something if you touch their urine or feces, or if your pet does and brings it inside.
They also carry fleas and ticks that can pass illnesses to people. Diseases that can jump from animals to humans are called zoonotic diseases.
Opossums can pose zoonotic risks like leptospirosis and tularemia. You probably won’t touch an opossum directly, but pets—especially dogs and cats—sometimes do, and that’s how infections get in your home.
If you’re careful around opossum droppings and control fleas, you lower your risk a lot.
Leptospirosis: Symptoms and Impact
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that opossums can spread through their urine. If you or your pet touch contaminated water or soil, the bacteria can get in through cuts or even your eyes and mouth.
People might get fever, muscle pain, or headaches. Pets like dogs could start vomiting, get diarrhea, or seem really tired.
If you don’t treat it, leptospirosis can mess with your liver or kidneys—seriously bad news. If you notice these symptoms after being around places where opossums have been, see a doctor or vet quickly.
Tularemia and Francisella tularensis
Tularemia comes from the bacteria Francisella tularensis, and opossums can carry it. The disease spreads if you touch infected animals or get bitten by ticks and fleas that live on opossums.
If you catch tularemia, you might suddenly get a fever, skin ulcers, or swollen glands. If it reaches your lungs or blood, things can get dangerous fast.
Handle wild animals with care and keep ticks off you and your pets to lower your chances of catching tularemia.
Parasitic Infections: Toxoplasmosis, Coccidiosis, and EPM
Opossums can carry parasites that cause diseases like toxoplasmosis, coccidiosis, and equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM).
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Toxoplasmosis spreads through opossum feces. Most healthy folks barely notice it, but it’s risky for pregnant women and people with weak immune systems.
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Coccidiosis comes from tiny parasites in opossum droppings. It mostly hits young or sick animals, causing diarrhea and dehydration. Dogs can catch it too.
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EPM affects horses and links back to parasites that opossums carry. Horses might get weak or have trouble walking.
Keep your pets away from opossum droppings and wash your hands after you’ve been outside to help prevent these infections.
Parasites, Vectors, and Additional Health Concerns
Opossums can carry parasites and germs that might affect you or your pets. These include ticks, fleas, and mites that spread diseases.
Opossums also connect to illnesses like murine typhus, Lyme disease, salmonella, and even tuberculosis. It’s helpful to know what you’re up against if opossums hang out near your home.
Ticks, Fleas, and Mites as Disease Vectors
Opossums often pick up ticks, fleas, and mites—tiny bugs that feed on blood. These pests can spread diseases to you, your pets, or other animals.
Ticks on opossums can carry things like Rickettsia rickettsii (which causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever) and Borrelia burgdorferi (the culprit behind Lyme disease). Fleas and mites can cause itchy skin or pass along infections too.
Because opossums wander between wild spots and neighborhoods, they sometimes bring these parasites closer to your yard. Check your pets for ticks after they’ve been outside and keep your yard tidy to cut down on parasite risks.
Murine Typhus and Lyme Disease
Murine typhus spreads mostly through fleas that carry bacteria. Opossums can host these fleas and sometimes help spread murine typhus, especially in cities where people and wildlife live close together.
If you get murine typhus, you might have a fever, headache, or rash. Lyme disease is another worry, coming from infected ticks.
Opossums carry ticks that can have the bacteria causing Lyme disease. They aren’t the main carriers, but since they move ticks around, they play a part.
Protect yourself by avoiding tick bites and using repellents if you’re in opossum territory.
Risks of Salmonella and Tuberculosis
Opossums can carry bacteria like Salmonella, which causes food poisoning in people. If you touch an opossum, their droppings, or anything they’ve contaminated, then touch your mouth or food, you could get sick.
Symptoms include diarrhea and stomach cramps. Tuberculosis (TB) is rare but possible from opossums in some places.
TB affects your lungs and can get serious if you ignore it. You can lower your risk by not handling sick or dead opossums and washing up well after cleaning up areas where opossums have been.
Rabies Myths and Opossum Feces
People sometimes say opossums carry rabies, but honestly, that’s not really true. Opossums almost never get rabies because their body temperature stays too low for the virus to thrive.
So, if you’re worried about catching rabies from an opossum, you probably don’t need to stress about it.
Now, opossum feces are a different story. Their droppings can carry parasites like Toxoplasma gondii.
If you touch soil or feces that’s contaminated and forget to wash your hands, you could get infected. It’s a good idea to wash up really well after handling pet waste or cleaning spots where opossums hang out.
Try not to touch their feces directly—why take the risk?
