Man’s Best FrenemyMan’s Best Frenemy

• MAN’S BEST “FRENEMY”??

  One of our members of staff just recently became the proud owner of a brand new puppy, courtesy of a now much loved other half. And the very next day, that same member of staff came in wailing and complaining about being cover in flea bites! Now we all know by now about the whole flea + bubonic plague connection, but this got my Machiavellian mind going … and I decided to make a list (for our esteemed albeit slightly hypochondriac staff member) of all the OTHER diseases man’s best friend could expose us to … and looking at all the possibilities makes me wonder if they are really our friends … or in fact our “frenemies?

  Our pets are our special companions with whom we share all our good times, and the bad, however, on occasion we can share more than just our friendship. Diseases passed from animals to man are called zoonoses or zoonotic illnesses., but because of good hygiene and veterinary care, animal-transmitted diseases are in general rarer than they once were.

  WORMS: Hookworms, roundworms and tape worms, whatever their size, shape or name, all except the canine/feline tapeworm can be transmitted to humans.

• When we accidentally eat something contaminated with worm eggs from a pet’s faeces, the eggs hatch in the intestines and begin migrating throughout that person’s body. Worm larva can also burrow through intact skin. Because these parasites were designed to live in dogs and cats, they become “lost” in the human body – often in the liver or eyes. When this occurs, the disease is called visceral larval migrans. This disease occurs most often in children due to their poor hygienic practices. Cutaneous larve migrans is a skin eruption caused by those same larvae creeping under the skin. Both conditions are can be treated with anti-parasitic drugs. Heartworm, although deadly serious for a dog, except is some very rare cases, cannot be passed on to humans.

  FUNGI: Often called “ringworm”, it is actually a misnomer as the lesion is neither a worm, nor always round; it is in fact a fungus.The most common one, Microsporum canis, is common on juvenile cats and dogs where it appears as a dry, oval, scurfy patch of broken off hair. The spores of these fungi often contaminate brushes and clothes that have been in touch with the pet. If these spores come in contact with abraded skin, the fungal infection may transfer to the pet owner.

  BACTERIA: Many Gastroenteritis causing bacteria are common to both us and our four-legged pets (salmonella, campylobacter and helicobacter to name a few), as well as the more unlikely ones such as TB and Bordetella, The latter causes “kennel cough” in dogs and in humans, Bordetella pertussis causes whopping cough, however the canine species causes more gastrointestinal symptoms when contracted by man, such as abdominal cramps and diarrhoea. Many other bacteria can also be passed to us from animal bites or scratches (such as the originally-named “cat scratch disease”) so proper cleaning of any bite, however small, is essential.

  VIRUSES: The most infamous disease in this section being rabies, since it really is one of the few viruses that is contagious to humans. There are of course plenty of other viruses that OTHER animals can pass on to us, such as West Nile Virus, Influenza, etc, etc, but cats and dogs do not play a major part in the “lifecycle” of those viruses.

  PARASITES: Scabies and fleas are the biggest culprits here and good animal as well as human hygiene play a most important role in disease prevention and control. Leishmania is also a disease common to animals and humans but in both cases the origin is a sandfly bite.

  OTHERS: Protozoal (single-cell organism) infection such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium, can cause chronic diarrhoeal disease in humans. And Toxoplasmosis, which is only carried by cats, can cause severe foetal abnormalities if contracted during pregnancy, this is why Obstetricians suggest pregnant women should not change cat litter boxes … actually that should read that ALL women should be exempt from this activity!! This does NOT mean that pregnant women cannot have ANY contact with cats, only that any contact with faecal matter should be avoided as much as possible. Tick-borne infections are almost a whole chapter in themselves. This can cause a serious illness in humans so keeping your pet free of ticks is the best method of prevention, and dogs can also be vaccinated against Lyme Disease.

  So now before all of you start to throw your darling four-legged, disease-carrying “best friends” out on the pavement, here are a couple of tips on how to best prevent sharing your pets’ microbes:

  1. Always wash your hands, especially after touching your pet, handling your pet’s food, or cleaning your pet’s cage, tank, or litter box. Wear gloves when cleaning up after an animal’s waste, and if you have a bird, wear a dust mask over your nose and mouth when cleaning the cage to prevent inhaling urine or fecal particles. Don’t have kids clean cages or litter boxes unless there is supervision or until they have demonstrated they can do this safely and responsibly (and again, hands should be washed afterward).
  2. Avoid kissing or touching your pet with your mouth because infections can be transmitted by saliva. Also, don’t share food with your pet.
  3. Keep your pet’s living area clean and free of waste. If your pet eliminates waste outdoors, pick up waste regularly and don’t allow kids to play in that area.
  4. Don’t allow pets in areas where food is prepared or handled, and don’t bathe your pet or clean aquariums in the kitchen sink or bathtub. Wash your pet outdoors or talk to your veterinarian about professional pet grooming.
  5. Avoid strange animals or those that appear sick. Never adopt a wild animal as a pet.

  Watch kids carefully around pets. Small children are more likely to catch infections from pets because they crawl around on the floor with the animals, kiss them or share food with them, or put their fingers in the pets’ mouths and then put their dirty fingers in their own mouths. Also, if kids visit a petting zoo, farm, or a friend’s house where there are animals, make sure they know the importance of hand washing. And remember; always keep your friends close, but your frenemies closer! So go on, give your frenemy a cuddle!!

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• MAN’S BEST “FRENEMY”??

  One of our members of staff just recently became the proud owner of a brand new puppy, courtesy of a now much loved other half. And the very next day, that same member of staff came in wailing and complaining about being cover in flea bites! Now we all know by now about the whole flea + bubonic plague connection, but this got my Machiavellian mind going … and I decided to make a list (for our esteemed albeit slightly hypochondriac staff member) of all the OTHER diseases man’s best friend could expose us to … and looking at all the possibilities makes me wonder if they are really our friends … or in fact our “frenemies?

  Our pets are our special companions with whom we share all our good times, and the bad, however, on occasion we can share more than just our friendship. Diseases passed from animals to man are called zoonoses or zoonotic illnesses., but because of good hygiene and veterinary care, animal-transmitted diseases are in general rarer than they once were.

  WORMS: Hookworms, roundworms and tape worms, whatever their size, shape or name, all except the canine/feline tapeworm can be transmitted to humans.

• When we accidentally eat something contaminated with worm eggs from a pet’s faeces, the eggs hatch in the intestines and begin migrating throughout that person’s body. Worm larva can also burrow through intact skin. Because these parasites were designed to live in dogs and cats, they become “lost” in the human body – often in the liver or eyes. When this occurs, the disease is called visceral larval migrans. This disease occurs most often in children due to their poor hygienic practices. Cutaneous larve migrans is a skin eruption caused by those same larvae creeping under the skin. Both conditions are can be treated with anti-parasitic drugs. Heartworm, although deadly serious for a dog, except is some very rare cases, cannot be passed on to humans.

  FUNGI: Often called “ringworm”, it is actually a misnomer as the lesion is neither a worm, nor always round; it is in fact a fungus.The most common one, Microsporum canis, is common on juvenile cats and dogs where it appears as a dry, oval, scurfy patch of broken off hair. The spores of these fungi often contaminate brushes and clothes that have been in touch with the pet. If these spores come in contact with abraded skin, the fungal infection may transfer to the pet owner.

  BACTERIA: Many Gastroenteritis causing bacteria are common to both us and our four-legged pets (salmonella, campylobacter and helicobacter to name a few), as well as the more unlikely ones such as TB and Bordetella, The latter causes “kennel cough” in dogs and in humans, Bordetella pertussis causes whopping cough, however the canine species causes more gastrointestinal symptoms when contracted by man, such as abdominal cramps and diarrhoea. Many other bacteria can also be passed to us from animal bites or scratches (such as the originally-named “cat scratch disease”) so proper cleaning of any bite, however small, is essential.

  VIRUSES: The most infamous disease in this section being rabies, since it really is one of the few viruses that is contagious to humans. There are of course plenty of other viruses that OTHER animals can pass on to us, such as West Nile Virus, Influenza, etc, etc, but cats and dogs do not play a major part in the “lifecycle” of those viruses.

  PARASITES: Scabies and fleas are the biggest culprits here and good animal as well as human hygiene play a most important role in disease prevention and control. Leishmania is also a disease common to animals and humans but in both cases the origin is a sandfly bite.

  OTHERS: Protozoal (single-cell organism) infection such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium, can cause chronic diarrhoeal disease in humans. And Toxoplasmosis, which is only carried by cats, can cause severe foetal abnormalities if contracted during pregnancy, this is why Obstetricians suggest pregnant women should not change cat litter boxes … actually that should read that ALL women should be exempt from this activity!! This does NOT mean that pregnant women cannot have ANY contact with cats, only that any contact with faecal matter should be avoided as much as possible. Tick-borne infections are almost a whole chapter in themselves. This can cause a serious illness in humans so keeping your pet free of ticks is the best method of prevention, and dogs can also be vaccinated against Lyme Disease.

  So now before all of you start to throw your darling four-legged, disease-carrying “best friends” out on the pavement, here are a couple of tips on how to best prevent sharing your pets’ microbes:

  1. Always wash your hands, especially after touching your pet, handling your pet’s food, or cleaning your pet’s cage, tank, or litter box. Wear gloves when cleaning up after an animal’s waste, and if you have a bird, wear a dust mask over your nose and mouth when cleaning the cage to prevent inhaling urine or fecal particles. Don’t have kids clean cages or litter boxes unless there is supervision or until they have demonstrated they can do this safely and responsibly (and again, hands should be washed afterward).
  2. Avoid kissing or touching your pet with your mouth because infections can be transmitted by saliva. Also, don’t share food with your pet.
  3. Keep your pet’s living area clean and free of waste. If your pet eliminates waste outdoors, pick up waste regularly and don’t allow kids to play in that area.
  4. Don’t allow pets in areas where food is prepared or handled, and don’t bathe your pet or clean aquariums in the kitchen sink or bathtub. Wash your pet outdoors or talk to your veterinarian about professional pet grooming.
  5. Avoid strange animals or those that appear sick. Never adopt a wild animal as a pet.

  Watch kids carefully around pets. Small children are more likely to catch infections from pets because they crawl around on the floor with the animals, kiss them or share food with them, or put their fingers in the pets’ mouths and then put their dirty fingers in their own mouths. Also, if kids visit a petting zoo, farm, or a friend’s house where there are animals, make sure they know the importance of hand washing. And remember; always keep your friends close, but your frenemies closer! So go on, give your frenemy a cuddle!!

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