|
Zoonoses
Are Your Pets A Threat?
By Carol Shenold
ZOONOSES-A fear of the zoo? A rare animal disease? No. Diseases that can be passed from animals to humans. According to a trend analysis by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, pets are members of the family in 61 percent of U.S. homes. More than half of the people with pets have dogs and cats, and 41 percent have two or more types of pets.
Other pets include birds, small animals, reptiles, freshwater fish and saltwater fish. Small animals and reptiles include rabbits, hamsters, ferrets, snakes and iguanas among other species. Although there are concerns about health risks from pets, good health practices can minimize the risks of disease and parasite transmission from animals to humans.
People, especially those who are immunocompromised, often get conflicting medical advice about whether they should have pets. "Get rid of all animals," is countered with "They haven't made you sick yet, have they?" Animals can make you sick, but so can the telephone someone just coughed on, doorknobs, a grocery cart that just held a toddler with a leaky diaper and the backrest of a movie theater seat.
In his report "Caring for Pets of Immunocompromised Persons," Dr. Fred Angulo, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suggests that immunocompromised people might have developed immunities to their pets' germs. Therefore, keeping the pets may not pose a risk. Good hygiene, handwashing and sanitary precautions will protect them from catching diseases, whether from people or animals.
Domesticated animals, cats, dogs, etc., present fewer risks for disease transmission. They have years of human contact in a controlled environment. Acquiring your pet from a domestic source, regular care from a family vet, a diet of uncontaminated food and water, and flea and tick control, all contribute to reducing the risk.
Wild and exotic animals, even if born in captivity, present greater risks, because they have less predictable behaviors. They may have germs not usually found in human communities, and there may be fewer effective vaccines available.
AVOID ZOONOSES:
- Wash your hands before and after touching your pet and after contact with its feces or body fluid.
- Make sure you can take good care of your pet and its environment, manage its behavior and provide regular veterinary checkups.
- Your pets should have vaccinations and effective flea and tick control.
- Keep your pet away from sick animals, domestic and wild.
- Don't put anything the pet has had contact with into your mouth-that means no licks from your ice cream cone or licks on your mouth.
- Avoid inhaling pet secretions (no sleeping nose-to-nose), litter dust and water sources (put a lid on aquariums).
- Wear disposable gloves, and a mask if necessary, when cleaning up areas soiled by pets. Use cleaning solutions that disinfect whatever you're removing, and dispose of debris in a securely fastened plastic bag.
COMMON ZOONOSES:
Dogs - fleas, giardia, mites, ticks (Rocky Mt. spotted fever, Lyme disease), rabies, ringworm.
Cats - cryptosporidiosis, cat scratch disease, fleas (larval migrans), ticks, rabies, ringworm, toxoplasmosis (Rocky Mt. spotted fever, Lyme disease).
Birds - cryptococcoses, M. avium complex.
Fish - M.marinum.
Reptiles - salmonella.
Monkeys - hepatitis, mumps, measles, pneumonia, polio, rabies, tuberculosis.
RESOURCES:
To locate a vet in your area who is knowledgeable about your pet's species, contact the state's veterinary medical association.
Printed materials about zoonoses are available from the Centers for Disease Control and the Prevention National Clearinghouse at 800-458-5231, and the American Veterinary Medical Association, www.avma.org.
The Delta Society has information about the human health benefits of animals, www.deltasociety.org.
The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology offers guidance about pets in healthcare facilities, www.apic.org.
From: "Your Pet and Your Health," APIC 2000.
Carol Shenold is a registered nurse and freelance writer. She has written for Cats Magazine, Home Life and Oklahoma Today. She does medical-technical writing and teaches writing for Francis Tuttle Vo-Tech.
Back to Archives
|
