A cockroach is an insect with a flat body and moves so fast. They belong to the family Blattodea and are black and brown in colour.
Cockroaches feed on rotting food, garbage and fecal waste. Most of the substance they eat and surface they crawl on is normally contaminated therefore making them harmful to human health. This is because they can carry disease-causing micro-organisms on their legs and bodies. Research has shown that they carry over 50 organisms that cause different diseases. They also produce secretions that have been said to transmit diseases. This disease-causing organism is deposited in the human food, kitchen, working tables and utensils.
Cockroaches can cause or accelerate allergic reactions. They produce allergens which become air-borne in their fecal waste. Some of the allergic reactions include rashes, sneezing and asthma attacks among others. In fact, it has been proven that it is one of the key factors that have alleviated asthma attacks in poor regions. They carry a staphylococcus pneumonia that can cause ear infections, pneumonia or a pink eye. E. coli, a bacteria that causes food poisoning with symptoms like stomach pains, tenderness and diarrhea can also be transferred to human food by these insects. The bacteria is also known to cause blood, kidney and brain problems once it enters the bloodstream. The insects are also likely to deposit salmonella on human food. Salmonella causes fever, diarrhea and vomiting.
They can also carry roundworms, pinworms that cause severe itching, tapeworms that cause diarrhea, nausea and sometimes weight loss and Shigella that causes diarrhea. In some cases, they have been said to cause poliomyelitis which causes muscle stiffness and spams, flu and fatigue.
Some roaches are known to bite. These bites can be dangerous and need to be treated well in order to avoid infection. Just like a normal insect bite it swells up and is itchy.