Our relationship with pets has modified drastically in current many years.
Pet possession is at an all-time excessive, with a current survey discovering 69% of Australian households have a minimum of one pet. We spend an estimated A$33 billion yearly on caring for our fur infants.
Whereas proudly owning a pet is linked to quite a few psychological and bodily well being advantages, our pets may harbour infectious ailments that may typically be handed on to us. For most individuals, the danger is low.
However some, comparable to pregnant folks and people with weakened immune techniques, are at better threat of getting sick from animals. So, it is vital to know the dangers and take vital precautions to forestall infections.
What ailments can pets carry?
Infectious ailments that transfer from animals to people are referred to as zoonotic ailments or zoonoses. Greater than 70 pathogens of companion animals are identified to be transmissible to folks.
Typically, a pet that has a zoonotic pathogen might look sick. However typically there could also be no seen signs, making it simpler so that you can catch it, since you do not suspect your pet of harbouring germs.
Zoonoses might be transmitted immediately from pets to people, comparable to by way of contact with saliva, bodily fluids and faeces, or not directly, comparable to by way of contact with contaminated bedding, soil, meals or water.
Research recommend the prevalence of pet-associated zoonoses is low. Nonetheless, the true variety of infections is probably going underestimated since many zoonoses will not be “notifiable“, or might have a number of publicity pathways or generic signs.
Canines and cats are main reservoirs of zoonotic infections (which means the pathogens naturally reside of their inhabitants) brought on by viruses, micro organism, fungi and parasites. In endemic areas in Africa and Asia, canine are the principle supply of rabies which is transmitted by way of saliva.
Canines additionally generally carry Capnocytophaga micro organism of their mouths and saliva, which might be transmitted to folks by way of shut contact or bites. The overwhelming majority of individuals will not get sick, however these micro organism can sometimes trigger infections in folks with weakened immune techniques, ensuing in extreme sickness and typically demise. Simply final week, such a demise was reported in Western Australia.
Cat-associated zoonoses embody various sicknesses unfold by the faecal-oral route, comparable to giardiasis, campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis and toxoplasmosis. This implies it is particularly vital to scrub your palms or use gloves every time dealing with your cat’s litter tray.
Cats may typically transmit infections by way of bites and scratches, together with the aptly named cat scratch illness, which is brought on by the bacterium Bartonella henselae.
Each canine and cats are additionally reservoirs for methicillin-resistant bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), with shut contact with pets recognized as an vital threat issue for zoonotic transmission.
Birds, turtles and fish may transmit illness
However it’s not simply canine and cats that may unfold ailments to people. Pet birds can sometimes transmit psittacosis, a bacterial an infection which causes pneumonia. Contact with pet turtles has been linked to Salmonella infections in people, significantly in younger kids. Even pet fish have been linked to a vary of bacterial infections in people, together with vibriosis, mycobacteriosis and salmonellosis.
Shut contact with animals – and a few behaviours particularly – enhance the danger of zoonotic transmission. A research from the Netherlands discovered half of homeowners allowed pets to lick their faces, and 18% allowed canine to share their mattress. (Sharing a mattress will increase the period of publicity to pathogens carried by pets.) The identical research discovered 45% of cat house owners allowed their cat to leap onto the kitchen sink.
Kissing pets has additionally been linked to occasional zoonotic infections in pet house owners. In a single case, a girl in Japan developed meningitis resulting from Pasteurella multicoda an infection, after usually kissing her canine’s face. These micro organism are sometimes discovered within the oral cavities of canine and cats.
Younger kids are additionally extra prone to have interaction in behaviours which enhance their threat of getting sick from animal-borne ailments – comparable to placing their palms of their mouth after touching pets. Kids are additionally much less prone to wash their palms correctly after dealing with pets.
Though anyone who comes into contact with a zoonotic pathogen by way of their pet can develop into sick, sure individuals are extra prone to undergo from critical sickness. These folks embody the younger, previous, pregnant and immunosuppressed.
For instance, whereas most individuals contaminated with the toxoplasmosis parasite will expertise solely delicate sickness, it may be life-threatening or trigger start defects in foetuses.
What ought to I do if I am anxious about catching a illness from my pet?
There are a variety of excellent hygiene and pet husbandry practices that may scale back your threat of turning into sick. These embody:
- washing your palms after enjoying together with your pet and after dealing with their bedding, toys, or cleansing up faeces
- not permitting your pets to lick your face or open wounds
- supervising younger kids when they’re enjoying with pets and when washing their palms after enjoying with pets
- carrying gloves when altering litter trays or cleansing aquariums
- wetting hen cage surfaces when cleansing to minimise aerosols
- retaining pets out of the kitchen (particularly cats who can leap onto meals preparation surfaces)
- retaining updated with preventative veterinary care, together with vaccinations and worm and tick remedies
- looking for veterinary care if you happen to suppose your pet is unwell.
It’s particularly vital for many who are at the next threat of sickness to take precautions to cut back their publicity to zoonotic pathogens. And if you happen to’re desirous about getting a pet, ask your vet which kind of animal would greatest fit your private circumstances.
Sarah McLean, Lecturer in environmental well being, Swinburne College of Expertise and Enzo Palombo, Professor of Microbiology, Swinburne College of Expertise
This text is republished from The Dialog beneath a Inventive Commons license. Learn the authentic article.
