3 illnesses you can get from your pet

Pets are members of our families and can be good for our health — their unconditional love reduces stress, and taking a dog on a daily walk can reduce the risk of many health problems, including obesity and cardiovascular disease. 

But there is a flip side to the coin: Pets can also make us sick. Fortunately, most zoonotic diseases, which are illnesses spread from animals to humans, can usually be prevented with regular visits to the vet and frequent hand-washing after petting animals or cleaning up after them.

Illnesses you can get from your pet include:

• Toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is caused by an infection of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite, one of the most common parasites in the world. Although healthy humans may not have any symptoms, which are usually flu-like, those with compromised immune systems can have serious complications including lung problems. Babies of infected moms can be stillborn or have birth defects. Infected children may not show signs, which include hearing loss and mental disabilities, until they are teens. Avoid infections by taking care cleaning litter boxes and wearing gloves when gardening.

• Salmonella. Reptiles, including lizards, snakes, and turtles, harbor salmonella, a bacterial disease that infects the intestinal tract. Although it doesn't make the animal sick, humans who come in contact with it can be ill for a week with diarrhea, nausea, fever, and cramps, and complications can be life-threatening . The disease is so common that the CDC recommends against keeping turtles as pets if the family consists of young children, senior citizens, or others with compromised immune systems. Your vet can test your pet to make sure it doesn't have salmonella. 

• Ringworm. Although you're more likely to get ringworm from puppies and kittens, you can get it from dogs and cats of all ages. Caused by a fungus, ringworm is identified by a red, scaly, round rash on the skin or scalp. It's extremely contagious, and you can get it from petting an infected animal, touching their bedding, or coming in contact with their feces. Treating ringworm with a topical anti-fungal cream or ointment containing either miconazole or clotrimazole — applying it beyond the borders of the rash — usually does the trick.

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