Giving the flu to Fido
Humans can pass illnesses to furry freinds
When Dr. Robert Knapp discovers that one of his pet patients has the dreaded superbug known as MRSA, he knows the culprit likely is the pet’s owner.
The bacteria, methicillin-resistant
is transmitted by people to animals.
“When we see
in a dog or cat, it’s not normal,” said Knapp. “That’s when we look at the client and say ‘You could be carrying this bacteria.’ It isn’t inherently coming from the pet. It’s coming from the person, who gave it to the pet.”
Yep, you can make your pet sick.
Knapp said certain bugs can more commonly be passed from human to animal and vice versa. Ringworm, for
example, could be transmitted to a cat. There are reports of human flu potentially infecting cats. And bacterial intestinal infections also can pass between pet and owner.
“Is it common? No. Has it happened? Sure,” said Knapp, of Knapp Veterinary Hospital in Clintonville and a member of the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association.
“The gist of it is that there is that potential. If you’re sick and you’re not sure if you’re going to make your pet sick, talk to your vet.”
A disease that is passed from an animal to a human is called zoonosis. A disease that is passed from human to animal is called reverse zoonosis.
Dr. Donn Griffith of Animal Medical and Emergency Hospital in Linworth said zoonosis is a topic that we should discuss more often.
“Zoonitic diseases are diseases that are in common between animals. And man — — is just another animal as far as we’re concerned. There are probably a lot of diseases that fit the reverse diagnosis,” Griffith said.
Certain strains of flu can pass from humans to animals, as well as the dreaded Clostridium difficile, said Dr. Jason Stull, assistant professor in the department of veterinary preventive medicine at Ohio State University. And so can antibiotic resistance.
“There definitely is a twoway street with infections and diseases,” Stull said. “It’s a challenging area. It’s difficult to always know where some of these bugs originate: Do they originate in animals, do they originate in people, or in both?”
Skin infections, strep and even mites can be passed from human to animal, Griffith said. But because genetic testing is required to determine origin, a lot of questions remain.
“The zoonotic list keeps getting bigger, so a person who has a zoonotic disease can transmit it to an animal, but it may not look like the same disease in the other species,” said Griffith, a former vet for the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
Bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal infections all can be passed between animals and humans, said Dr. Melissa Simmerman, assistant state veterinarian and assistant chief in the division of animal health at the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
It’s far more common for illnesses to pass from animals to people, but those with pets or those working on farms, in a zoo or in animal sanctuaries should worry about passing diseases to animals.
“There definitely are circumstances where folks need to be educated on those issues,” Simmerman said.
For example, she said, a number of hogs got sick at some county fairs across Ohio last year. When tested, the hogs had a human strain of flu virus. Flu also can be passed to monkeys and apes.
Along with MRSA, tuberculosis can be passed to animals, Simmerman added.
She said the list of diseases that can pass from animals to humans is fairly significant in length. Theoretically, all of those diseases could pass in the opposite direction, but a lot of factors come into play.
Certain pets are more vulnerable than others, Stull said, including those that are young or old or those that already are more prone to infection. People should also be more careful with exotic species, such as hedgehogs, chinchillas, reptiles and amphibians.
To protect pets when you’re sick, follow good hygiene and proper sanitation. Wash your hands often, especially before and after handling or feeding your pet.