Why can animals eat dirty food and drink dirty food without getting sick?

2024-01-12 08:22:00

Animals get sick, just like humans, and often die from the disease. Immunity develops when we are exposed to a pathogen, and the immune system, after encountering a pathogen, develops a way to fight it. Immunity is also passed from mother to child through breastfeeding (antibodies are in milk), so if the mother has encountered some pathogens in her life and the immune system is active, she will transmit those antigens to their children (animals transmit them to their children). This is temporary immunity and if the child (young) is exposed to the same pathogen, they can still get sick but it will be less severe than if they were not protected. They will develop their own defenses in the process. If they are not exposed to a pathogen while protected by their mother’s antibodies, they will soon lose the ability to fight the pathogen and will have to re-develop the pathogen through future exposure.

Using water regularly will help pets “get used to” certain bacteria in the water. Photo: Internet

So wild animals are naturally more exposed to the ‘dirt’ and ‘trash’ out there, so their offspring are temporarily immune to that stuff. However, the baby (young) will most likely soon be exposed to those same pathogens but it does not kill them because they are protected by the mother. It may not have full immunity but enough protection that they only get mildly ill. Once they have been exposed, even though the mother’s antigens are no longer effective, they will still produce their own antigens.

Even though they drink dirty pond water, most animals are fine. Illustrative photo: Internet

People are now accustomed to cleaning the environment to perfection. As parents, we still provide temporary immunity to our children if they are breastfed but we do not allow them to be exposed to the ‘dirt’ of the world until the protection Their temporary effect ceases. Therefore, when older children or adults are exposed to certain pathogens with absolutely no protection, the condition becomes serious.