Sharing with your pets is bad… At least when it comes to disease
Many of us share just about everything with our pets.
After all, theyare part of our families. We share our home, our food, even part of our couch.
While we are taught early in life that sharing is good, there are definitely some things that we don’t want to share with our pets and one of these is disease.
Diseases that can be transferred between humans and people are called zoonotic diseases.
Dr. Mark Stickney, Director of General Surgery Services at Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, explains how these diseases can be transferred and how they can be prevented.
“The good news is that if you are sick you are almost certainly not going to give it to your pet,” reassures Stickney. “The only real exception is that it is possible to spread the flu virus from people to ferrets.”
On the other hand, Stickney notes that it is much more common for humans to catch diseases and/or illnesses from our pets.
“Our pets can actually give us lots of diseases. The most common are parasitic diseases such as GI parasites like hookworms, and roundworms,” states Stickney.
These parasites are spread as the eggs are passed in feces from the animals.
Children are by far the most susceptible as they tend to play in, walk over, or even eat animal waste.
“The eggs and worms can be directly ingested, or the worms can actually burrow through the skin in the foot, which is called visceral larval migrans,” explains Stickney. “A more severe case of this is called ocular larval migrans. In this case, the worms migrate through the skin to the eyeball. Sadly, this is a leading cause of blindness in children in developing countries.”
Other illnesses pet owners should be aware of are those causes by mites, fleas and ticks as animals, especially dogs, are preferred hosts and carries of these pests.
“One type of skin parasite that is caused by a mite is called scabies,” says Stickney. “This is common in young dogs that are less than a year old, and causes scaly, raw, itchy skin.”
Fleas and ticks are even more common pests and can cause allergic reactions, Lyme disease, and even plague in humans.
“While zoonotic infections and infestations are very common and dangerous in some parts of the world, they are less common in the US,” notes Stickney. “This is mainly due to the standards of cleanliness and hygiene in more developed areas.”
Even so, the transfer of these diseases is easily preventable, and Stickney suggests that pet owners take reasonable precautions against the spread of infection.
“It’s common sense, but wash your hands after you play with your
pets and especially before you eat,” instructs Stickney. “This is
especially important for children as they are more likely to get into
pet messes.”
As feces is the most common way for parasites to spread, Stickney
suggests keeping your yard as clean as possible and keep a close eye on
your children at public parks.
“Since fleas and ticks are also a major contributor to the spread of
disease, putting your pets on a year-around flea and tick preventative
will also help to alleviate this threat,” states Stickney.
Stickney adds that visiting your veterinarian and keeping your pets on
an appropriate vaccination schedule is always an important step in
keeping your pets healthy, thus preventing the spread of disease.
By exercising caution and keeping your pets and your family clean and
healthy, you can make sure you are only sharing good things with your
pets.
ABOUT PET TALK...
Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine &
Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. Stories can be viewed on the
Web at http://tamunews.tamu.edu/.
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