Animal Diseases and Your Health Summary Animal diseases that people can catch are called zoonoses. Many diseases affecting humans can be traced to animals or animal products. You can get a disease directly from an animal, or indirectly, through the environment. Farm animals can carry diseases. If you touch them or things they have touched, like fencing or buckets, wash your hands thoroughly. Adults should make sure children who visit farms or petting zoos wash up as well. Though they may be cute and cuddly, wild animals may carry germs, viruses, and parasites. Deer and deer mice carry ticks that cause Lyme disease. Some wild animals may carry rabies. Enjoy wildlife from a distance. Pets can also make you sick. Reptiles pose a particular risk. Turtles, snakes and iguanas can transmit Salmonella bacteria to their owners. You can get rabies from an infected dog or toxoplasmosis from handling kitty litter of an infected cat. The chance that your dog or cat will make you sick is small. You can reduce the risk by practicing good hygiene, keeping pet areas clean and keeping your pets’ shots up-to-date. Start Here Animals: Disease Risks for People American Veterinary Medical Association Healthy Pets and People Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Infections That Pets Carry (For Parents) Nemours Foundation Zoonotic Diseases Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Specifics Bat Influenza (Flu) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Birds Kept as Pets Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Cats Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dogs Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Farm Animals Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Horses Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Key Facts about Tularemia Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus from Pet Rodents Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Mycobacterium bovis (Bovine Tuberculosis) in Humans Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Pets and Parasites American Academy of Family Physicians Pets and Pasteurella Infections American Academy of Pediatrics Rat Bite Fever American Academy of Pediatrics Ringworm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Rodent Control: Seal Up! Trap Up! Clean Up! Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Take Caution When Bats Are Near Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Toxocariasis (also known as Roundworm Infection) FAQs Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Zoonotic Hookworm FAQs Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Encyclopedia Brucellosis Creeping eruption Pets and the immunocompromised person Psittacosis Rat-bite fever Tularemia Visceral larva migrans Women Caring for Pets When You’re Pregnant March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation Toxoplasmosis and Pregnant Women Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Find an Expert Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Related Issues Disease Precautions for Dog Walkers American Veterinary Medical Association Risk of Human Salmonella Infections from Live Baby Poultry Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Journal Articles Animal Diseases and Your Health Latest News Could Germ from Cat Poop Trigger Rage Disorder in People? HealthDay
