Cuddly, pleasant, enjoyable: Your pet brings a lot to your life, however consultants warn that, in uncommon instances, they will additionally convey sickness.
The well being advantages of pet possession are many, famous Dr. Stacey Rose, an affiliate professor of infectious ailments and inner drugs at Baylor Faculty of Drugs in Houston.
For instance, the presence of a canine or cat within the residence can desensitize a toddler’s growing immune system to sure allergens. Pets are additionally well-known stress busters, serving to to decrease dangers for hypertension and melancholy, Rose famous in a Baylor information launch.
However there are hidden well being risks, particularly for pregnant ladies or anybody with an immune system weakened by sickness, organ transplant or an infection with HIV.
For these individuals, there’s the danger of toxoplasmosis, attributable to the toxoplasma germ that may be present in cat feces, Rose stated.
Hookworm—this time present in canine feces—is one other infectious agent to be cautious of, so all the time wash your palms after selecting up after your canine.
Then there’s the hazard of getting bitten or scratched by a canine, cat or different pet.
Cats, particularly, can transmit a harmful organism known as Pasteurella multocida via a chunk, and canine bites can go alongside one other hazardous germ known as Capnocytophaga canimorsus.
Infections with these germs may be harmful and even deadly for individuals with compromised immune methods, Rose stated.
Cats and canine who roam outdoors may come into contact with rodents, possums, raccoons and different wild critters. Rose stated the principle well being concern there’s the bugs that reside on these animals, reminiscent of fleas and ticks—and the diseases they carry.
For instance, Murine typhus is a flea-borne sickness that may convey on rash, fever and different signs in people.
“You do not have to have direct publicity with a rodent to be in danger; in case your pets are gallivanting with these different animals and the fleas are transferred from the rodent to your pet, then your pet may help transmit that illness,” Rose defined.
Bartonella henselae sickness is one other flea-borne bacterium that is so related to felines that it has been nicknamed “cat scratch” illness.
It is most related to scratches from kittens, Rose stated. If the kitten is carrying fleas, the fleas’ contaminated feces can enter your physique by way of a scratch.
In accordance with the Baylor information launch, “In children or adults with a traditional immune system, one may develop an enormous lymph node that may go away by itself,” after a scratch, however “with a compromised immune system, that very same bug can result in far-reaching ailments together with bloodstream infections or infections of the guts or coronary heart valves, or the attention, liver or spleen.”
Then there are diseases caught from scaly cold-blooded pets reminiscent of turtles, lizards or snakes.
The U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention continues to concern alerts about individuals (typically babies) catching salmonella from these animals after dealing with them.
Aged individuals, or these with compromised immune methods, also needs to keep away from dealing with pet reptiles, or wash their palms completely with cleaning soap and water in the event that they do.
“There are many explanation why we will and will have pets, however you simply want [to] concentrate on your personal immune system and the potential dangers,” Rose stated. “Taking excellent care of your pets additionally issues, like holding their setting clear and utilizing flea prevention. We’ve got to be conscientious pet house owners for our personal well being and the well being of our households and neighbors.”
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Can I get sick from my pet? (2024, March 22)
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