No cuddling? Pets can make us sick

Caution! Pets can transmit pathogens while cuddling

About 28 million pets are kept in Germany. The majority of them are dogs and cats. Especially children love to cuddle and cuddle with the animals. But that can be dangerous at times. As researchers now report, the four-legged can transmit harmful pathogens.

Pets can transmit pathogens
According to a report by the dpa news agency, the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers from Canada and the US report that pets can transmit many different pathogens to their owners. Accordingly, especially small children, elderly and sick people and pregnant women are at risk from infections with viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites. For healthy people, however, the risk is low, as long as the animals are adequately provided and hygiene rules are adhered to.

Positive health effects
However, it would be wrong to reject pets because of the study results. According to various studies, the four-legged friends can also have a positive effect on the health. For example, a protection against allergies and respiratory tract infections is suspected in small children who live with a dog in the house. It is also known that children who grow up on a farm and have contact with animals from an early age are less likely to suffer from allergies and that their risk of asthma or hay fever is much lower than that of children growing up in an urban environment. Studies have shown that pets can also have a positive effect on the psyche. Health experts also point out that the four-legged are ideal exercise trainer. Because dog owners are automatically stopped for a minimum of exercise, they statistically reduce the risk of hypertension and therefore heart attack or stroke. Furthermore, dealing with the animals reduces stress and anxiety.

Children and seniors at higher risk
As the scientists around Jason Stull of Ohio State University in Columbus write in their review article, however, many pet owners are not sufficiently aware that their animal companions can also transmit diseases. The researchers had searched the existing scientific literature for studies that dealt with the problem. These were mostly case reports, but systematic studies were rare. Thus, children under the age of five, adults over the age of 65, patients with a weakened immune system, and pregnant women are at the greatest risk of zoonotic disease, an infection in which the virus is transmitted between animals and humans. As the researchers report after evaluation of the studies, the diseases in these groups may be worse, longer lasting symptoms or complications occur.

Transmission through bites and scratches
Pathogens can be transmitted by virtually all pets, such as bites and scratches, but also in contact with the feces, when cleaning cages and aquariums or when owners let their animals lick their faces. The professional association for paediatricians already warned against so-called dog kisses years ago. In the mouth of the animals can hide pathogens that can lead to dangerous infectious diseases. Dogs and cats, for example, can transmit the diarrhea pathogen Campylobacter jejuni, according to Canadian and US scientists. Cats also pass on various Bartonella bacteria, which can cause fever and severe inflammation. In addition, resistant pathogens such as ESBL (extended-spectrum ß-lactamase-producing Escherischia coli), MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) or Clostridium difficile - in both directions - can be transmitted between humans and their pets.

Cats transmitted by cats can lead to miscarriagesn
Amphibians and reptiles are suspected of being responsible for a variety of sporadic salmonella infections among pet owners. Around eleven percent of these infections in patients under the age of 21, according to a study, were based on such animals. Salmonella can cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, fever, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting in humans. Parasites such as worms would be transmitted mainly by dogs and cats. The pathogen Toxoplasma gondii is mainly spread by cats. Toxoplasmosis primarily endangers unborn children and may cause severe birth defects or miscarriage.

Follow hygiene rules
Pet owners should follow common hygiene rules and wash their hands after contact with animals. When cleaning cages, aquariums or cat lavatories gloves should be worn and the animals should also be examined regularly by the veterinarian. As the scientists write, should be in a serious illness such as cancer with the purchase of an animal to wait until the body and the immune system have recovered. Very sick patients should be advised by doctors about the risks of pet ownership.

Positive effects probably outweigh
According to the dpa report, this view is also shared by Andreas Sing, a specialist in microbiology and infection epidemiology at the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL). The risk of infection by pets is unknown to many people. "When you grow a pet, you have to be aware that you are also buying a risk," said Sing. There are currently few numbers on the frequency of such infections. Among other things, because it is often difficult to determine in a disease, as the transfer has taken place. However, Sing assumes that the positive effects that the relationship with an animal entails outweigh the potential disadvantages in general. According to information from the Industry Association for Pet Supplies, about 28 million animals lived in German households in 2013, including more than 11 million cats and almost seven million dogs. (Ad)

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