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Information from
CDC
Some people are more likely than
others to get diseases from animals. A person's age and health status may
affect their immune system, increasing his or her chances of getting
diseases from animals. In general, it is not recommended that
immunocompromised persons and parents of young children give up common
household pets because of the low risk of disease transmission from
animals. However, the links below provide some simple safety tips for
protecting people who may be at increased risk for infectious diseases.
People with HIV/AIDS
Organ transplant patients
Infants and young children
Pregnant
women
Preventing
Infections from Pets: A Guide for People With HIV Infection
You do not have to give up your pet.
- Although the risks are low, it is possible for
you to get an infection from pets or
other animals.
- Several simple precautions are all you
need to take with pets or other animals.
- HIV can not be spread by, or to, cats, dogs, birds, or other
pets.
Should I keep my pets?
Yes. Most people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
can and should keep their pets. Owning a pet can be rewarding. Pets can
help you feel psychologically and even physically better. For many people,
pets are more than just animals — they are like members of the family.
However, you should know the health risks of owning a pet or caring for
animals. Animals may carry infections that can be harmful to you. Your
decision to own or care for pets should be based on knowing what you need
to do to protect yourself from these infections.
What kinds of infections could I get from an animal?
Animals can have cryptosporidiosis ("crypto"),
toxoplasmosis ("toxo"), Mycobacterium avium complex ("MAC"), and
other diseases. These diseases can give you problems like severe diarrhea,
brain infections, and skin lesions. You can learn more about many of these
diseases and how to prevent them from other brochures in this series.
These are listed
below.
What can I do to protect myself from infections
spread by animals?
- Always wash your hands well with soap and water after playing with
or caring for animals. This is especially
important before eating or handling food.
- Be careful about what your pet eats and
drinks. Feed your pet only pet food or cook all meat thoroughly before giving it to your pet. Don’t give
your pet raw or undercooked meat. Don’t let your pets drink from toilet
bowls or get into garbage. Don’t let your pets
hunt or eat another animal’s stool (droppings).
- Don’t handle animals that have diarrhea. If the pet’s diarrhea lasts
for more than 1or 2 days, have a friend or relative who does not have
HIV take your pet to your veterinarian. Ask
the veterinarian to check the pet for infections that may be the cause
of diarrhea.
- Don’t bring home an unhealthy pet. Don’t get a pet that is younger
than 6 months old — especially if it has diarrhea. If you are getting a
pet from a pet store, animal breeder, or animal shelter (pound), check
the sanitary conditions and license of these sources. If you are not sure about the animal’s health,
have it checked out by your veterinarian.
- Don’t touch stray animals because you could get scratched or bitten.
Stray animals can carry many infections.
- Don’t ever touch the stool of any animal.
- Ask someone who is not infected with HIV and is not pregnant to
change your cat’s litter box daily. If you must clean the box
yourself, wear vinyl or household cleaning gloves and immediately wash
your hands well with soap and water right after changing the litter.
- Have your cat’s nails clipped so it can’t scratch you. Discuss other
ways to prevent scratching with your
veterinarian. If you do get scratched or bitten, immediately wash the
wounds well with soap and water.*
- Don’t let your pet lick your mouth or any open cuts or wounds you
may have.
- Don’t kiss your pet.
- Keep fleas off your pet.
- Avoid reptiles such as snakes, lizards, and turtles. If you touch
any reptile, immediately wash your hands well with soap and water.
- Wear vinyl or household cleaning gloves when you clean aquariums or
animal cages and wash your hands well right after you finish.
- Avoid exotic pets such as monkeys, and ferrets, or wild animals such
as raccoons, lions, bats, and skunks.
*If
you are bitten, you may need to seek medical advice.
I have a job that involves working with animals.
Should I quit?
Jobs working with animals (such as jobs in pet stores, animal clinics,
farms, and slaughterhouses) carry a risk for infections. Talk with your
doctor about whether you should work with animals. People who work with
animals should take these extra precautions:
- Follow your worksite’s rules to stay safe and reduce any risk of
infection. Use or wear personal protective gear, such as coveralls,
boots, and gloves.
- Don’t clean chicken coops or dig in areas where birds roost if
histoplasmosis [his-to-plaz-MO-sis] is found
in the area.
- Don’t touch young farm animals, especially if they have diarrhea.
Can
someone with HIV give it to their pets?
No. HIV can not be spread to, from, or by cats, dogs, birds, or
other pets. Many viruses cause diseases that are like AIDS, such as feline
leukemia virus, or FeLV, in cats. These viruses cause illness only in a
certain animal and cannot infect other animals or humans. For example,
FeLV infects only cats. It does not infect humans or dogs.
Are there any tests a pet should have before I bring
it home?
A pet should be in overall good health. You don’t need special tests
unless the animal has diarrhea or looks sick. If your pet looks sick, your
veterinarian can help you choose the tests it needs.
What should I do when I visit friends or relatives
who have animals?
When you visit anyone with pets, take the same precautions you would in
your own home. Don’t touch animals that may not be healthy. You may want
to tell your friends and family about the need for these precautions
before you plan any visits.
Should children with HIV handle pets?
The same precautions apply for children as for adults. However,
children may want to snuggle more with their pets. Some pets, like cats,
may bite or scratch to get away from children. Adults should be extra
watchful and supervise an HIV-infected child’s handwashing to prevent
infections.
Additional brochures
in the Opportunistic Infections Series:
Coinfection
with HIV and Hepatitis C Virus
Living
with HIV/AIDS
Preventing
Infections During Travel
Safe Food and
Water
You can Prevent
CMV
You can Prevent
Cryptosporidiosis
You can Prevent
MAC
You can Prevent
PCP in Adults and Adolescents
You can
Prevent PCP in Children
You can Prevent
Toxo
You can Prevent
TB
Pet Safety Tips
Patients who have received organ transplants are more
likely than most people to get diseases from animals. However, simple tips
can be followed to reduce their risk of getting sick after contact with
animals. These recommendations were originally made for bone marrow
transplant patients, but they also may be useful for other organ
transplant patients. Although this section focuses on how to protect organ
transplant patients from pet related diseases, many groups support the
health
benefits of pets.
Keep Clean!
Wash your hands thoroughly with running water and soap
after handling animals and their feces (stool). If possible, you should
avoid direct contact with animal feces. Adults should supervise the hand
washing of children.
Caring for Your Pet
If your pet is ill, seek veterinary care as soon as
possible. Any cat or dog that has diarrhea should be checked by a
veterinarian for infection with Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Salmonella,
and Campylobacter.
Caring for Birds: Bird cage linings should be
cleaned daily. Wear gloves whenever handling items contaminated with bird
droppings. Routine screening of healthy birds for
zoonotic diseases is not recommended.
Caring for Fish: Avoid cleaning fish tanks by
yourself; ask a family member or friend for assistance. If this task
cannot be avoided, you should wear disposable gloves during such
activities. Wash your hands thoroughly with running water and soap
afterwards.
Caring for Cats: If you have a cat try to have
another person clean out litter on a regular (daily) basis. Do not place
litter boxes in kitchens, dining rooms, or other areas where food is
prepared and eaten. Keep your cat indoors. Avoid handling stray cats. Pet
cats do not need to be tested for toxoplasmosis.
Feeding Your Pet
Just like people, pets can get diseases from eating
contaminated food. By protecting your pet from foodborne diseases, you can
protect your own health as well. Pets should be fed only high-quality
commercial pet foods. If eggs, poultry, or meat products are given to your
pet as supplements, they should be well-cooked. Any dairy products given
to your pets should be pasteurized. Additionally, pets should be prevented
from drinking toilet bowl water and from having access to garbage. Do not
let your pet scavenge for food, hunt, or eat other animals' feces.
Getting A New Pet
When getting a new pet, avoid animals that are ill,
stray, or young (cats and dogs less than 6 months old). These animals are
more likely to carry diseases that can make you ill.
Animals to Avoid
The following animals are considered high-risk animals
for immunocompromised people (including organ transplant patients):
- Reptiles, including lizards, snakes, and turtles.
- Baby chicks and ducklings.
Exotic pets, including monkeys. Note: All
persons should avoid direct contact with wild animals. Do not adopt wild
animals as pets or bring them into your home.
Contact with these animals and their environments should be avoided by
people with compromised immune systems. If you do touch these animals or
their environment (their food or cage, for example), wash your hands
thoroughly with running water and soap. Additionally, organ transplant
patients should be extra cautious when visiting farms and when in contact
with farm animals, including animals at petting zoos and fairs.
These pet safety guidelines for bone marrow transplant
patients were developed from the following CDC resource: Guidelines for
preventing opportunistic infections among hematopoietic stem cell
transplant recipients.
Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report,
October 20, 2000; 49(RR10):1-128.
Animal Safety Tips
Infants and children less than 5 years old are more
likely than most people to get diseases from animals. This is because
young children often touch surfaces that may be contaminated with animal
feces (stool), and young children like to put their hands in their mouths.
Young children are less likely than others to wash their hands well.
Objects such as pacifiers may fall to dirty surfaces and then be placed in
an infant's mouth. For some animal diseases, young children are more
likely than others to get very sick.
To best protect infants and young children (less than 5
years old) from getting sick from animals, children should wash their
hands thoroughly with running water and soap after contact with animals.
Adults should supervise children while they are washing their hands.
Although this section focuses on how to protect
children from diseases from animals, many groups support the health
benefits of animals for people, including children.
CDC recommends that infants and children under 5 years
old avoid contact with the following animals:
- Reptiles (lizards, snakes, and turtles).
- Amphibians (frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders).
- Baby chicks.
- Ducklings.
Additionally, children less than 5 years old should be
extra cautious when visiting farms and having direct contact with farm
animals, including animals at petting zoos and fairs.
CDC Reports and Recommendations
Outbreaks and strategies related to farm visits and
petting zoos. Outbreaks of Escherichia coli
O157:H7 infections among children associated with farm visits,
Pennsylvania and Washington, 2000.
Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report,
April 20, 2001; 50(15):293-7.
Outbreaks and recommendations related to chicks and
ducklings. Salmonellosis associated with chicks and ducklings--Michigan
and Missouri, Spring 1999.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report April 14, 2000; 49(14):297-9
Updated recommendations related to reptile-associated
salmonellosis.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, December 12, 2003;
52(49):1206-1209.
Pet Safety Tips
Pregnant women need to be aware that toxoplasmosis (TOX-so-plaz-MO-sis)
can cause problems with pregnancy, including abortion. Toxoplasmosis is an
infection caused by a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. This
parasite is carried by cats and is passed in their feces (stool). However,
people are more likely to get toxoplasmosis from eating undercooked meat
or gardening than from contact with pet cats. By following simple safety
people tips, pregnant women can reduce the risk of getting toxoplasmosis
from cats.
- If you own a cat, have another non-pregnant person
change the litter box every day. If there is no one else to change the
litter box, wear gloves and wash hands with soap and running water after
changing the cat litter every day.
- Keep cats indoors.
- Avoid adopting or handling stray cats.
- Feed cats only canned or dried commercial cat food,
never undercooked or raw meat.
- Do not bring a new cat into your house that might
have been an outdoor cat or might have been fed raw meat.
- Do not have any reptiles (lizards, snakes, or
turtles) in the household after the infant is born.
Source:
Attention
Pregnant Women: What You Can Do to Keep Germs From Harming You and Your
Baby. (CDC parental care pamphlet).
Preventing congenital toxoplasmosis.
Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report, March 31, 2000; Vol 49(No RR02):
57-75.
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