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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Pig's Blood On An Open Wound Cause Infections?

Hi, I dissected a pig's heart in my biology class this week and I didn't use gloves (because my teacher said it was ok not to use them). I'm wondering if touching the pig's blood and heart might give me some infections since I had a small wound on my left hand (because of a blister). I know that I might be over-exaggerating, but I'm really anxious.
Thu, 23 Jul 2015
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Touching the pigs blood or any organ with intact skin will not cause any infection. But if your skin has some injury or abrasion or it is not intact, this can transmit infection.
To make you infect, the blood with which you came in contact should harbour some kind of infection. So whether that pig was suffering from some infection or disease has to be known. Secondly wash your hand under running tap water to 5-7 minutes. This will reduce the dose of infection.
Consult your physician if you have any symptoms like fever, redness, itching, sneezing, running nose.
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Can Pig's Blood On An Open Wound Cause Infections?

Touching the pigs blood or any organ with intact skin will not cause any infection. But if your skin has some injury or abrasion or it is not intact, this can transmit infection. To make you infect, the blood with which you came in contact should harbour some kind of infection. So whether that pig was suffering from some infection or disease has to be known. Secondly wash your hand under running tap water to 5-7 minutes. This will reduce the dose of infection. Consult your physician if you have any symptoms like fever, redness, itching, sneezing, running nose.