The risks of having these pets are real. In 2003, there was an outbreak human monkey pox that was traced back to imported African Gambian rats that had infected many prairie dogs and were sold as pets. Small turtles that were kept as house pets were responsible for approximately 103 cases of salmonella during the second half of last year, mostly in young children. In just last week, an Iraqi dog was shipped to the United States as part of an international rescue effort for animals and was found to have rabies. Twenty-four other animals were in this shipment and had already been distributed to 16 states. According to the October 3rd issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that these other animals were also potentially exposed to the rabies.
The new review by AAP details a number of the diseases that could be potentially transmitted by these more unusual house pets. The reptiles have a very high rate of carrying different strains of salmonella, as do turtles, baby poultry (including chicks), and our friendly hamsters. Plague is a disease which is carried by wild rodents and is transmitted to human that are handling infected animals. This group also includes the common house cat that has been bitten by fleas. The herpes B virus has been said to be carried by the macaque monkey. These animals don’t have to be in a household to pose a risk. More than 55 outbreaks of the diseases in humans, including the infection with E. coli bacteria, have involved animals that were in public settings between 1991 and 2005.
The report is recommending that we wash our hand frequently to help minimize these risks. Children that are under the age of 5 are at particular risk, in part because their immune systems are still developing. Adults that have weakened immune systems, including women who are pregnant and the elderly, are also at a greater risk.
Dr. Jonathan Field, emeritus director of the pediatric allergy and asthma clinic at the New York University/Bellvue Medical Center, stated that our normal allergies are typically associated with dogs and cats than with nontraditional pets. The real problem seem to lie with the people who have weakened immune systems and are exposed to a virus form or a bacteria from one of these pets.
The new review by AAP details a number of the diseases that could be potentially transmitted by these more unusual house pets. The reptiles have a very high rate of carrying different strains of salmonella, as do turtles, baby poultry (including chicks), and our friendly hamsters. Plague is a disease which is carried by wild rodents and is transmitted to human that are handling infected animals. This group also includes the common house cat that has been bitten by fleas. The herpes B virus has been said to be carried by the macaque monkey. These animals don’t have to be in a household to pose a risk. More than 55 outbreaks of the diseases in humans, including the infection with E. coli bacteria, have involved animals that were in public settings between 1991 and 2005.
The report is recommending that we wash our hand frequently to help minimize these risks. Children that are under the age of 5 are at particular risk, in part because their immune systems are still developing. Adults that have weakened immune systems, including women who are pregnant and the elderly, are also at a greater risk.
Dr. Jonathan Field, emeritus director of the pediatric allergy and asthma clinic at the New York University/Bellvue Medical Center, stated that our normal allergies are typically associated with dogs and cats than with nontraditional pets. The real problem seem to lie with the people who have weakened immune systems and are exposed to a virus form or a bacteria from one of these pets.
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