Cockroach borne disease

Cockroaches can carry many diseases, such as:

• Diarrhoea: Contaminated food is a well-known cause of diarrhoea. Cockroaches can trail harmful bacteria like E. coli on their feet and bodies and contaminate the food. The person eating this food could then get diarrhoea. Common symptoms include abdominal pain, headache, fever, weakness and lethargy.
• Cholera: Cholera is an infectious disease that spreads due to a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae. This bacterium enters the person's body through food and water but it does not make most people sick, rather causes cholera in people who come in contact with that person's faeces.
• Leprosy: Leprosy is a skin disease that is spread by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. In this disease, the person starts experiencing symptoms like joint pain, hair loss, blisters and skin numbness. Skin lesions are characteristic signs of leprosy and are caused due to damaged veins. The progression of the disease is continuous. The upper respiratory tract gets affected too.
• Plague: This disease is a type of infection caused by bacteria called Yersinia pestis. Plague bacteria also infect individuals through mice and infected fleas. It is a rare disease and symptoms like severe chest pain, high fever, flatulence are seen.
• Cough: There are different types of cough caused by infection. A cough may also be accompanied by fever, body aches, chills, vomiting, headaches.
• Polio: Cockroaches can spread the Poliovirus which causes polio. Polio can also occur as a result of consuming water and food contaminated with Poliovirus. However, at present, India has been declared a polio-free country.
• Meningitis: Cockroaches are also considered to be the major cause of the spread of meningitis, or inflammation of the meninges layer around the brain and spinal cord. This can happen if they track enterococcus bacteria on to food and water.
• Other health problems that can be caused by cockroaches are:
  • Nasal congestion
  • Wheezing
  • Skin rash
  • Sinusitis

Cockroaches can infect you in the following ways :

• Through air: If you inhale the proteins present in the stool and saliva of cockroaches, you can get infected.
• Through touch: If you touch your eyes, nose or mouth after touching infected surfaces, you could get infected and fall sick. Some people are also allergic to cockroach saliva and faeces; touching these could produce an adverse reaction in them.
• Through food: Upon consumption of food and drinks that have been contaminated by cockroaches.

You should try the following measures to prevent the spread of diseases caused by cockroaches.

• Keep the house clean and tidy
• Keep food in airtight containers and refrigerators only
• Clean the household garbage regularly
• Keep the dustbin covered 
• Close the cracks and holes in the edges of the walls so that the cockroaches can't hide in them 
• Place a lid on the open drains too
• You could also use the various types of medicines and remedies available in the market to kill cockroaches