These Short-Haired Dogs Make For Low Maintenance Pets

Diseases You Can Get From Pets Or Other Animals - WebMD

Zoonotic illnesses are diseases humans can get from animals. Many infectious diseases can spread from animals to people, and some of these can come from your pet. But before you become too alarmed, know that getting diseases from a pet is pretty uncommon, and that you can prevent most of them with some very simple steps. For example, teach children not to kiss pets or put their hands in their mouths after touching them. Frequent hand washing and regular vet checks are two other great ways to help prevent a wide range of diseases from pets. This includes diseases from dogs, diseases from cats, diseases from birds, or diseases from reptiles.

These are a few of the more common diseases you might get from your pet. People with weak immune systems, such as those with HIV/AIDS, may be more vulnerable than healthy individuals and should take special care.

Rabies

Caused by a virus and spread through bites, rabies is a disease that affects the nervous system and is generally fatal. Early signs may be fever or headache. This can quickly develop into symptoms of confusion, sleepiness, or agitation. Although rabies can be spread from pets such as a dog or cat, you are more likely to get it from a wild animal.

Reduce the risk of rabies:

Keep your pet's vaccinations up to date.

Do what you can to prevent your pet from having contact with wild animals.

Have animal control remove any stray animals. Don't try to care for them yourself.

Tell your doctor right away if an animal bites you.

Toxoplasmosis

Caused by a protozoan organism, toxoplasmosis may cause flu-like symptoms in some people. If you're pregnant or getting ready to become pregnant, it is particularly important to be aware of this disease, as it can infect a fetus and cause a miscarriage or serious birth defect. You are most likely to get toxoplasmosis from eating partially cooked meat or from contact with animal feces while gardening. But you can also get it from contact with contaminated cat feces. It is important to change a cat's litter box daily; if it is cleaned within a 24-hour period, it is likely not infectious. 

Reduce the risk of toxoplasmosis:

Avoid direct contact with kitty litter or areas that may be contaminated by cat feces.

Wash hands after contact with litter.

If you are pregnant or have a weak immune system, have another family member clean and change kitty litter daily while wearing gloves. Also, keep your cat indoors to reduce its risk of infection.

Don't feed your cat raw or undercooked meat, and avoid it yourself.

Cat scratch disease (bartonellosis)

This bacterial disease is spread from cat to cat by fleas, but people usually become infected from a cat scratch or bite. If you develop cat scratch disease, you may develop a mild infection and flu-like symptoms or more serious problems such as damage to the valves in the heart.

Reduce the risk of cat scratch disease:

Do what you can to control fleas on your pets and in your home.

Avoid play that might lead to cat scratches or bites.

Don't allow your cat to lick any open wounds you have.

Wash cat bites and scratches right away with soap and water.

See your doctor if you develop an infection at the site of a cat bite or scratch.

Hookworm and roundworm

These are intestinal parasites routinely found in dogs and cats, particularly kittens and puppies. The worms' eggs or larvae are passed from pets through stool. You can pick up hookworms through your skin from walking barefoot or playing outside. A young child might also accidentally eat the worm eggs, which may lead to roundworm.

Hookworm infection can cause painful and itchy skin infections or abdominal symptoms. Roundworm infections may cause no symptoms but can cause nerve or eye damage in some people.

Reduce the risk of roundworms and hookworms:

Don't walk barefoot or garden in areas with bare hands.

Teach children to always wash their hands after touching a dog or cat or playing outside.

Have your dogs and cats dewormed by the vet.

Tapeworm

Dogs and cats can pick up tapeworm by eating a flea that has been infected. Most human tapeworm infections arise from ingestion of contaminated meats, but children may pick up tapeworm by accidentally swallowing a flea infected with tapeworm larvae. Tapeworm segments may show up in stool or around the anal area on a pet or human. These segments look a little like grains of rice.

Reduce the risk of tapeworms by controlling fleas on your pet and in the environment.

Ringworm

Not really a worm, ringworm is caused by a fungal infection within the top layer of the skin. It is very contagious and dogs, cats, horses, other animals, and humans can pass ringworm to humans. You can also get it from touching surfaces that an infected pet or person has touched. On skin, ringworm causes a ring-shaped, reddish rash that may be dry and scaly or wet and crusty. It may also be itchy.

On the scalp, it can cause temporary baldness.

On nails, it can cause thickening, discoloring, and brittle texture.

On feet, (called athlete's foot), it can cause scaliness and cracking, especially between the toes.

Ringworm is more likely if you have been sweating a lot or had a minor injury. Although it's difficult to prevent, ringworm responds well to self-care and treatment.

Reduce the risk of ringworm. If a pet or family member has ringworm:

Make sure they get treated. For family members, apply an over-the-counter antifungal.

Consult your doctor if the lesions are extensive or do not improve rapidly with topical treatment.

Consult your veterinarian if skin lesions are found on your pets.

Wash the sheets and pajamas of the infected family member every day. 

Avoid direct contact until the ringworm is gone. And, keep animals off your bed.

Keep your skin clean and dry.

Salmonella

Caused by bacteria, salmonella infection most often results from eating contaminated food. But pets can spread it, too, by not cleaning one's hands thoroughly after handling their feces. Reptiles such as lizards, snakes, and turtles are likely sources of this infection, as well as chicks and ducklings. Dogs, cats, birds, and horses may also carry it. If you become infected, signs and symptoms may include stomach pain, diarrhea, and fever.

Reduce the risk of salmonella:

Always wash hands with soap and water after contact with animal feces or with reptiles and the surfaces they've touched.

If you have a weak immune system, avoid any contact with reptiles, chicks, and ducklings.

Psittacosis (Parrot Fever)

This is a bacterial infection that you can get from breathing in dried feces or respiratory tract fluids from infected birds. This includes parrots, parakeets, macaws, and cockatiels, and poultry such as turkey, chicken, and ducks. It may be hard to detect this infection in birds because they often don't have symptoms. This makes prevention more difficult.

Reduce the risk of parrot fever:

Avoid purchasing a bird with signs of infection. This includes eye or nasal discharge, diarrhea, or low body weight.

Change papers daily and regularly disinfect the bird's cage, but in a well-ventilated area. Diluted bleach (for example, ½ cup of bleach in a gallon of water) should do the trick. Or, ask your vet for a safe, effective antibacterial to use.

If you suspect your bird may be sick, see a vet right away.

Call your doctor if you develop flu-like or respiratory symptoms after having a sick bird. If you come down with psittacosis, your experience may range from no symptoms at all to severe respiratory symptoms.

Lyme disease

Your pet can't transmit Lyme disease to you directly. But you can get it from ticks your dog or outdoor cat picks up. Ticks carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, which may cause no obvious symptoms. Or, it may cause:

Without treatment, Lyme disease can become a chronic condition over time, causing nerve and heart inflammation, mental changes, and pain.

Reduce the risk of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses:

Avoid tick-infested areas, especially in spring and summer.

Use veterinary-approved tick preventives on your pet and apply insect repellent with DEET on yourself when in areas with ticks.

Wear light clothing and cover legs and arms when hiking.

Remove ticks as soon as you can to help reduce the chances of infection.

Dispose of ticks by wrapping them in a paper towel and placing them in a plastic bag. Never crush the tick as this can release dangerous bacteria.

Although there are several infectious diseases you can get from your pet, there are many more that are not naturally transmitted from pets to humans. Because pets can get diseases that are similar to those humans get, you may wonder if you can get them from your pet.

Here are some infections that sound similar to human diseases but which you cannot get from your pet:

If you have questions about other diseases, be sure to have a conversation with your doctor or vet.

Dog, Cat Bites Hit Record High: ARC SMHS Logs 12,833 Cases

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- A whopping 12,833 bite victims, mostly from dog and cat bites, sought treatment at the Anti-Rabies Clinic at Srinagar's Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital in the past year, officials said.

They said the prevalence of dogs across the valley has contributed to human-dog conflicts, leading to a rise in cases of dog bites in the region. They added that rearing cats at home has also led to bite cases.

Officials said that in the last one year, from June 2024 to May 2025, ARC SMHS Hospital received 12,833 cases, including 6,258 dog bites, 6,095 cat exposures, and 480 other bite cases. They said the cat exposure is increasing exponentially over the last few years, as many people are keeping them as pets, while almost all dog bites are reported from stray dogs.

"We receive over one thousand animal bite scratch exposures every month in Anti-Rabies, and in the last one year, around 13,000 cases have been reported," they added. This figure of 12,833 cases marks the highest recorded in the past decade, underscoring the urgent need to address the issue immediately, officials said.

Providing a breakdown, an official said that 530 dog bites were reported in June 2024, 598 in July, 521 in August, 515 in September, 540 in October, 423 in November, 439 in December, 480 in January 2025, 463 in February, 524 in March, 625 in April, and 601 in May.

Read Also Kashmir's Growing Obsession with Persian Cats Lingering Stray Menace

Details reveal that 440 cat bite cases were reported at the clinic in June 2024, followed by 440 in July, 432 in August, 414 in September, 486 in October, 399 in November, 514 in December, 692 in January 2025, 658 in February, 542 in March, 491 in April, and 537 in May till date, bringing the total number of cat bite cases from June 2024 to date to 6,095.

An official at ARC SMHS said that cats do transmit rabies, similar to dogs, and that cat bite cases are on the rise. People need to take precautions in this regard."The trend of keeping cats as pets has gone up, especially post-COVID times, but in many instances, owners are not following norms like vaccination, deworming, timely treatment, and hygiene practices," he said."We have seen many fold increases in the number of cases visiting the Anti-Rabies Clinic at SMHS over the last three years. Almost half of the cases are victims of cat exposures."

Reviewing the yearly data on bite cases, the official said that from April 2015 to March 2016, 7,061 bite cases were reported to ARC SMHS, followed by 5,832 from April 2016 to March 2017, 6,802 from April 2017 to March 2018, 6,397 from April 2018 to March 2019, 6,139 from April 2019 to March 2020, 4,808 from April 2020 to March 2021, 5,469 from April 2021 to March 2022, 6,875 from April 2022 to March 2023, and around 8,800 from April 2023 to March 2024, making the total cases since April 2015 around 70,000.

According to officials, Kashmir witnessed a surge in pet ownership over the last decade. In contrast to farm animals, which provide milk, meat, and eggs, pets are kept purely for companionship. They stressed that adherence to personal hygiene while handling pets is crucial for preventing zoonosis.

"A person who intends to keep a pet must be mentally prepared to take proper care of their pet, respecting its behavioural requirements, providing adequate feeding, shelter, and healthcare facilities. There is no fun in bringing home an animal without taking proper care of it," they said.

They added that regular hygiene practices, such as routine grooming and dental care, help prevent skin infections and dental diseases in pets.

In Kashmir, dog bites pose a serious public health concern, with thousands of people becoming victims of animal bites, particularly from stray dogs, and some developing rabies. Rabies is a universally fatal viral disease, resulting in approximately 59,000 human deaths annually worldwide, with 95 per cent of cases occurring in Africa and Asia.(KNO)

Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group : Join Now

Be Part of Quality Journalism

Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast.

ACT NOW MONTHLY Rs 100 YEARLY Rs 1000 LIFETIME Rs 10000 Donate Now Donate Now

CLICK FOR DETAILS

MENAFN18062025000215011059ID1109693569

---