Can a Pet Get You Sick?

Swine flu, bird flu, stomach flu. We’re surrounded by viruses every time we leave the house. We expect it at the playground, at the office, at the mall — but in our own homes? Sure, you can catch illnesses from your family members — but what about your pets?

“People can certainly catch illnesses from their dog or cat, though some are more common than others,” says Susan Wright, BVSc (Hons), a staff veterinarian at Dog Fence DIY LLC in Dallas.

There are a variety of ways pet illnesses are transmitted, depending on the ailment. Some, such as the roundworm parasite, are spread through touching feces of infected dogs and cats, usually found in soil, followed by improper (or lack of) hand washing. The hookworm parasite can also be ingested in a similar manner, though it is more commonly contracted when larvae in infected dirt penetrate your bare skin. Toxoplasmosis, which is especially dangerous to pregnant women and can lead to birth defects, can be caught by touching the feces of an infected animal as well and by handling raw meat without proper hand washing afterwards.

Other cat and dog illnesses can be transmitted between animals and people through contact with an infected animal’s skin and fur. One example is ringworm, which is actually a fungal skin infection and not a worm. Another pet illness is the highly contagious mite, Sarcoptes scabei, which can affect dogs, cats, and people, resulting in hair loss and/or skin rash.

Other ailments infect both animals and people, but are spread by a third source rather than directly from dog to human. Lyme disease is one example — infected ticks can bite and infect an animal and be carried indoors on a pet, only to crawl off them and onto a person’s skin and bite them. Heartworm is another. Relatively common in dogs and cats though not as frequent in humans, heartworm is spread from the bite of an infected mosquito.

Finally, some illnesses can be transmitted when an animal injures a person, although these are very rare. One example is rabies. Most often transmitted by the bite of an infected wild animal, rabies can also be spread when a pet that has the illness bites. Without immediate treatment, death may result, and vaccination against rabies is extremely important for pets.

Another is cat scratch disease, caused by bacteria known as Bartonella. “People develop fever, joint pain, lethargy, and headaches some weeks after being scratched,” says Dr. Wright. Bacteria, most commonly Pasteurella, which causes fever and illness, can also be spread from an animal bite.

Catching Illness from Other Types of Animals

Dogs and cats aren’t the only pet culprits when it comes to making people sick. Assume that all reptiles — turtles, lizards, and snakes, among others — shed salmonella, which causes diarrhea and fever in people, warns Wright. Frogs can also carry mycobacterium, which can infect people.

Birds, meanwhile, can transmit Chlamydia psittaci, or psittacosis, when people inhale aviary dust or droppings, as well as pasteurellosis, mycobacteriosis, and others. There are also a variety of rodent diseases that people can get including leptospirosis and hantavirus — though they are typically spread through wild rodents.

How to Keep Your Pet (and Yourself) Healthy

The good news is that there are steps you can take to prevent the spread of diseases from your animal to you.

• Practice good hygiene. Always wash your hands after handling your pets and cleaning up after them. Consider wearing a mask and disposable gloves when cleaning out a bird cage or scooping a litter box.
• Maintain your pet’s health. “Feed [your pet] high quality food, keep the pet at a healthy weight, keep current on vaccinations and parasite preventatives, brush their teeth, keep them groomed, and get them checked by the veterinarian if they show signs of illness or if there are any changes,” says Joanne Gaines, DVM, owner and veterinarian at Ridgeview Animal Hospital in Omaha, Neb. Also, consider keeping them indoors or in a controlled environment such as a fenced yard and on a leash for walks to cut down on exposure to illnesses.

So can your pet catch an illness from you? While there was a case of a farmer passing swine flu on to his pigs, this type of transmission is rare. You generally don’t need to worry about getting your pet sick.

Being aware of the various diseases animals can transmit is smart when you own a pet, but this possibility shouldn’t keep you from sharing a household with one. “Although there are risks, they are not huge with the appropriate precautions and, for most people, the benefits of owning a pet outweigh the potential health issues,” says Wright.