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Preventing animal related disease Vaccinate pets against rabies.  Keep the vaccination up to date, and make sure of a reliable source for the vaccine. Children should wash hands thoroughly after petting, bathing, or other activity with a pet.  Also get them into the habit of washing hands before every meal. Never approach an animal while it is feeding, sleeping, or injured. Female animals are irritable and prone to attack after they have delivered babies.  Be wary of these fiercely protective mothers. If bitten or scratched by a pet, wash the wound immediately with plenty of soap and water.  Then take the child to the doctor for evaluation.  Remember, there is no cure for rabies once it has developed. If a child has asthma, ideally, it is time to say good bye to pets.  If this can't be done, keep the animal out of the bedroom, and shampoo frequently. If there is a family history of allergic diseases, take steps to spare the baby exposure to allergens.  This includes removal of pets.  This should be done several months before the baby is due, for animal allergens can persist in the indoor environment for months. Some dogs like dobermans, rottweilers, German shepherds and pitbulls, are bred and trained to be aggressive.  These dogs are not suitable for children. Wild animals should not be kept as pets.  Monkeys, hedgehogs, and other unusual animals can be dangerous and should not be given to children. Avoid reptiles for pets, because children can get salmonella infection from them even without close contact. Clean bird cages frequently, and wear gloves when doing so.  This prevents psittacosis. Young children and babies should never be left alone with animals.  Children should be taught not to tease pets, and never to put their faces near the animal's mouth.

Health Risks of Pets

Children love pets.  They play with them, sleep with them, and practically live with them.  A child with a pet has a faithful, dependable companion, and is envied by his friends.  But these "children's best friends" carry risks of diseases.

Allergic diseases

The tendency to allergic diseases like asthma, rhinitis, and eczema is inherited, but children who are exposed to allergens develop the allergy quicker and more strongly.  Exposure to allergens early in life is a risk factor for the development of sensitization and allergic disease.

Cats release an allergen, fel d 1, into the environment which can provoke and worsen asthma.  Similarly, dogs, too, release an antigen.  These are two of the commonest antigens involved in childhood allergic diseases.  66% of children sensitised to cat antigen have been found to have either asthma, eczema, or rhinitis.

These antigens can persist in the home environment for months after the animal is removed.  If there is a family history of allergic disorders, the animal should be removed from the home several months before the baby is born.  About a third of childhood asthma can be attributed to allergen sensitisation, and this may not become obvious for some months after a pet is acquired.

Infective diseases

The scratch of a cat can cause Cat Scratch disease.  It is caused by bacteria called Bartonella henselae, and is sometimes difficult to diagnose because of unusual features (it usually shows up as enlargement of the lymph nodes and fever).

Cats and dogs are often host to worms, which can infest children, especially those under 3 years.  Many of these worms cannot live normally in humans, and cause abscesses, pneumonia, blindness, and seizures and other brain disease, among several other manifestations.

Psittacosis (Ornithosis) is an infection acquired from birds like parrots and macaws.  Also known as Parrot Fever, it is a pneumonia caused by bacteria called Chlamydia.  It is acquired by humans while cleaning the bird cage, or handling a sick bird.  This infection can cause illness ranging from mild influenza like illness to life-threatening pneumonia.  Infections by Chlamydia do not respond to the antibiotics usually given for pneumonia.

Microsporum canis is a fungal infection that animals (mainly cats) can pass on to humans, which manifests as ringworm.  This is an important cause of ringworm in children, especially of the head and neck.

Other diseases that cats carry and can infect children with are Toxoplasmosis, and diarrhoea owing to Cryptosporidium parvum.

Reptiles as pets carry a specific health hazard -- salmonellosis.  Salmonella are bacteria, and can be transmitted to children sharing a home with snakes, turtles, salamanders, and other reptiles.  These bacteria cause abdominal cramps, bloody loose motions, and fever, and are difficult to treat with antibiotics.  Cats and dogs can also transmit this infection.

Animal Bites

It is a false belief that pet dogs do not bite their owners.  Most dog bites occur from pets or neighborhood dogs.  Cats, on the other hand, do not bite unless provoked.

Animals have many germs in their mouth that can cause disease in humans.  The germs exist in the animals' saliva, and it is important to realise that a lick can also transmit the disease.  Also, animals frequently lick their claws; a scratch may be as bad as a bite.

The most dangerous infection transmitted by animal bites is rabies (hydrophobia).  This is a viral infection, and is 100% fatal.  There is no cure, no treatment.  It can be prevented by vaccinating the bitten person immediately after the bite, and all pets should be vaccinated against rabies.

Dogs and cats usually will not bite humans without cause.  An animal which bites a child without provocation has a possibility of being rabid, and the child should receive the anti rabies vaccine as soon as possible.  Rabies can be transmitted by any animal that bites.

The most common infection transmitted by animal bites is Pasteurella multocida.  This germ exists in the mouth of healthy animals like cats and dogs, and can cause infections at the site of a bite.  Rarely, it has been known to cause serious infections like meningitis.  Most commonly, animal bites will result in redness, pain, and swelling around the wound, pus and abscess formation, redness of the involved lymph vessels (lymphangitis), and fever.  Apart from P.  multocida, other germs involved may be Pasteurella canis, Pasteurella septica, streptococci, staphylococci, moraxella, and neisseria.  Cat bites can also transmit Cat Scratch disease.

Other problems

Pets often carry fleas and ticks, and these can transfer to children.  They cause severe itching, allergies, and can transmit some dangerous diseases.  Good pet hygiene is important to avoid these problems.

Dog bites can be very violent, and fractures and other tissue injuries can occur, especially in young children.  Dog bite injuries in children often occur on the head and neck, and deaths are known.  These usually result from injury to the large blood vessels in the neck.

Last revision: July 30, 2010

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