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What Are Zoonotic Diseases?
Owning a pet can be a wonderful, rewarding experience for you and your family. However, pets can transmit diseases that may be harmful to humans – especially young children and people with certain medical conditions. These are called zoonotic diseases or zoonoses.
There are two types of zoonotic diseases that concern pet owners: illnesses that can be transmitted from animals to humans – like leptospirosis – and diseases that infect both people and pets – like Lyme disease. That’s why it’s important to take precautions to protect both your family and your pet from zoonotic diseases. You share many things with your pet, but disease shouldn’t be one of them.
The Companion Animal Parasite Council has issued a list of recommendations to aid in controlling internal and external parasites in dogs and cats:
Administer year-round treatment with heartworm preventives that have broad-spectrum activity against parasites with zoonotic potential.
Administer preventive flea and/or tick products year-round.
Conduct annual heartworm testing in dogs.
Feed pets cooked or prepared food (not raw meat) and provide fresh, potable water.
Conduct fecal examinations two to four times during the first year of life and one to two times per year in adults, depending on patient health and lifestyle factors.
Administer anthelmintic treatment to puppies at 2,4,6, and 8 weeks of age, followed by administration of a monthly preventive.
Administer biweekly anthelmintic treatment to kitten between 3 and 9 weeks of age, followed by administration of a monthly preventive.
Treat nursing bitches and queens along with their offspring.
Tailor parasite prevention programs to parasite prevalence and pet lifestyle factors.
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