Sure, it sounds like another sensationalized headline, but the findings of two doctors who studied the risks of sleeping with pets will make all pet owners heel, and pay attention.
The authors pointed to two cases, one in which a 9-year-old boy from Arizona got the plague because he slept with a flea-infested cat, and another in which a 48-year-old man and his wife repeatedly contracted MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). The treating physicians tracked the infections to the pet dog, which routinely slept in their bed and often licked their face.
Sure, most pets are well taken care of by their owners. And some pets may not go outside very much. But it’s still very easy for a pet to carry disease. All pets are around fecal matter, even if it’s only their own. This fecal matter carries germs in the best case scenario, and things like parasites and salmonella in the worst case. Salmonella can live in feces for up to 12 weeks, the report says.
The study will be printed in the February issue of Emerging Infection Diseases, a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The two doctors who conducted the study are experts with zoonoses, which are diseases or infections transmitted from animals to humans.
The study found that 53 percent of dog owners allow their canines to sleep in bed with them. The number of cats who nap in bed is even higher. The new study reinforces the findings of several other studied that showed humans catch disease from cats far more often. Also, cases involving cats are often more serious.
Cat scratch, for example, is not just the title of a song (Ted Nugent’s Cat Scratch Fever), it is a harmful bacterial infection that comes from infected fleas and flea feces. It can be transmitted to humans simply by a cat strolling across a food preparation area that isn’t disinfected before food is placed on it.
Cat scratch disease can cause severe problems, including swelling of the lymph nodes and sometimes lethal damage to the liver, kidney and spleen of humans. Most of the 20,000 or so annual cases involve children who are scratched, bitten or even just licked by a cat.
The researchers urged owners not to kiss their pets very often, or to allow pets to lick the faces of their owners. Dogs, for instance, often love to play in or eat the stool of other animals. And what dog doesn’t like to lick their butt, right?
The researchers also recommended that pet owners regularly take their pet to the vet for check-ups, and that they take advantage of flea/tick prevention and de-worming techniques. Wash areas of your body that are licked by a pet, especially open wounds or skin that has scratches or abrasions.
The researchers cited two deadly cases of infection caused by licking. In one, a woman died of septic shock and renal failure after her cat licked open sores on her feet and toes. In the other lethal case, a 44-year-old man succumbed to infection after his German shepherd puppy licked open abrasions on his hands.
Those most at risk to contract zoonoses (animal-to-human diseases and infections) are young children, the elderly or anyone who is immuno-compromised.
In addition to the cases listed above, the new study contains numerous other eye-opening cases that will make any pet owner think twice before calling it a day next to Fido or Fluffy.
“I think pets can be very nice in the home environment, but certainly, they don’t belong on the bed,” one of the researching doctors told LiveScience.
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