Taking Care of Your Health: Understanding Pet-Transmitted Diseases
Zoonotic diseases, which are illnesses that can be transmitted from animals to humans, are more prevalent than you might imagine. Keep up with your pet’s preventive care to avoid getting sick even though they seem to be in excellent health because they could be carrying a transmissible disease.
How can my pet pass diseases to me?
Pets can pass germs to people in a variety of ways, including through:
- Direct contact — Direct contact with saliva, blood, urine, feces, or other bodily fluids from an infected pet can result in the transmission of disease. If you clean up your pet’s accident inside, or they lick a sore on your leg, you can contract an illness.
- Indirect contact — Indirect disease transmission occurs when you come in contact with something an infected pet has contaminated. For example, if your child digs in their sandbox after a stray cat has used it as a litter box, they may contract a roundworm infection.
- Vectors — Vectors, like ticks and fleas, can be attracted to your pet and be carried indoors to bite and transmit disease to you.
- Food — Undercooked meat or eggs, or raw fruits and vegetables contaminated with feces from an infected pet, are some of the most common causes of foodborne illnesses in people and their pets.
- Water — Drinking or coming in contact with water that has been contaminated with feces or urine can result in diseases such as giardia or leptospirosis being passed to you.
What diseases can I get from my pet?
Numerous illnesses can be passed from pets to people through:
- Bacteria (leptospirosis, salmonella, E. coli, tick-borne disease, cat scratch disease)
- Viruses (rabies)
- Fungi (ringworm)
- Intestinal parasites (roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms, giardia, toxoplasma)
- External parasites (scabies, fleas, ticks)
Always use excellent hygiene when handling your pet, their waste, and their possessions to prevent the spread of disease since this list is by no means comprehensive.
Animal and human family members can contract a wide range of parasites and pathogens from pets. Regular preventative care is the best method to safeguard every member of your home, including the two- and four-legged ones. To keep everyone secure and healthy, give our staff a call to arrange for your pet’s preventative care visit.
