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Animal-borne microbes
They are so cute !
Who doesn’t get excited when seeing a puppy, kitten, or even a lamb? Nowadays, our pets hold a very important place in our lives. But not only cats and dogs, since new exotic pets are also quite popular and numerous households will take in a small rodent, bird, reptile, or even a spider.
Cute but…
Even when in good health, pets may transmit microbes to humans causing what is called zoonosis1.
How?
- Through direct contact.
- Through consuming specific food (milk, meat) from an infected animal.
- Through an arthropod2 as an intermediary, transporting microbes.
- Through the wind that may sometimes carry dust contaminated with bacteria.
Don’t panic!
Pets can still be our best friends and the happiness they bring us compensates by and large the risks of an infection. We should simply adopt the right behavior in order to avoid microbes that our pets could transmit to us.
Wanted
Zoonosis = Infectious disease transmitted directly or indirectly to humans by animals.
Arthropod = Small animal with articulated legs and an external rigid skeleton, which forces it to evolve through successive molts. Over one million and a half different species of arthropods exist. It is the one animal group most present on earth. It includes insects, arachnids (spiders, scorpions and mites), shellfish, and Myriapoda (centipedes).