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Pet Ownership
at Christmas
21st
December 2004
Owning
a pet is a long established Irish tradition and a particularly
topical issue at Christmas time. A pet is a wonderful addition
to any family, bringing with it hours of fun, exercise and
unconditional love that an animal bestows on a family who treat it
with loving care and responsibility.
A
pet is not a toy, and must be cared for emotionally and physically.
Pet health care is an area of priority for any responsible pet owner
and also of responsibility are the hygiene rules, which should be
strictly adhered to.
Most
people are unaware of the common infectious diseases passed between
humans and animals (zoonoses), which include roundworm, tapeworm,
toxoplasmosis and toxocariasis.
The basic rule to avoid animal to
human transfer of these diseases is thorough hand washing.
Even if the physical contact amounts to just a passing cuddle you
should always wash you hands to avoid contracting an unwanted
infection. Hands should always be washed before eating.
Toxoplasmosis
is a rare disease
but can be particularly dangerous to pregnant women and to people
whose immune system is not working properly. Pregnant women
can suffer a miscarriage or the baby may suffer from severe brain
damage, blindness or other serious defects because of it.
Individuals are immunocompromised (e.g. after treatment for cancer,
after organ transplantation, or those infected with HIV) are more at
risk of developing severe infection of the brain, the heart, the
lungs or the eye. As cats may carry this disease, pregnant women and
immunocompromised individuals should avoid cleaning the cat litter.
All adults and children should wash their hands after gardening or
handling soil and before eating.
Toxocariasis
is a common roundworm that can be caught by coming into contact with
infected faeces from dogs and cats or even by stroking these pets.
The young worms hatch in the intestine and travel to the lungs,
liver and sometimes to the eye or other organs where they can form
cysts. Some children may develop infections in the lungs or
eyes accompanied by fever, but generally the disease is mild.
Very young children and toddlers are most likely to pick up the
condition by handling contaminated soil or litter and putting their
hands into their mouths.
Dr.
Ann Marie O’Byrne of the South Eastern Zoonoses Committee said,
“Prevention is the most important thing that parents can do.
Being aware of the problem is fundamental, de-worm family pets every
three months with a reputable wormer supplied by your vet.
Kittens and puppies may need to be de-wormed more often, as advised
by your vet. Pet owners must ensure the safe disposal of pet
faeces; cat litter trays should be changed daily. Parents
should supervise young children when washing their hands and
children should be encouraged to wash their hands regularly
throughout the day. This is important for all children – not
just children who are in regular contact with animals. A clean
pet combined with regular hand washing and awareness leads to a non
infected human".
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