Sleeping with your pet can kill you

[Sage Ninja]

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/20/le...-can-kill-you/

Medical researchers have long shown that contact with pets can often help both the physically and mentally ill. But now, veterinary scientists say sleeping with your pets increases the chances of contracting everything from parasites to the plague.

What's a pet owner to do?

Most U.S. households have pets, and more than half of those cats and dogs are allowed to sleep in their owner's beds, Drs. Bruno Chomel, a professor at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, and Ben Sun, chief veterinarian for California's Department of Health, say in a study to be published in next month's issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Emerging Infectious Diseases.

"We wanted to raise the attention of people, as sleeping with a pet is becoming quite common, and there are risks associated with it, even if it is not very frequent," Chomel told AOL News. "But when it occurs, especially in children or immunocompromised people, it can be very severe."

The authors, both experts in zoonoses, which are diseases or infections transmitted from animals to humans, reported that "the risk for transmission of zoonotic agents by close contact between pets and their owners through bed sharing, kissing or licking is real and has even been documented for life-threatening infections such as plague, internal parasites" and other serious diseases.

How many of us admit to others that we sleep with our furry friends? Many of us do, according to the study.

Among dog owners, 53 percent consider their dog to be a member of the family, and 56 percent of those dog owners admit they sleep with their dog next to them, the researchers reported.

We're not just talking about teacup yorkies and chihuahuas here. Yes, the study says, most are small dogs, but 41 percent are medium-sized, and one out of three are large. Also, consider this fact, which the authors attribute to the American Kennel Club: Women were more likely than men to allow their dogs to share their beds.

As strange as it may be to canine lovers, more people have cats than dogs, and these felines also carry disease. This study and several others show that disease from cats is far more prevalent, and often more serious.

The number of cats snuggling up with their owner is far greater, which may explain the larger number of people acquiring feline-spawned diseases, Chomel explained.

Take cat scratch disease, for example. The bacterial infection, caused by Bartonella henselae, comes from infected fleas and flea feces and is transmitted to humans, often simply by a cat strolling across a food preparation area that isn't disinfected before food is placed on it. Mostly, the victims of cat scratch disease are children, infected by the scratch, lick or bite of a cat. The pathogen can cause swelling of the lymph nodes and sometime lethal damage to the liver, kidney and spleen of humans.

The CDC estimates that more than 20,000 people can contract cat scratch disease a year, but the federal disease agency could offer no information on the number of deaths.

Risks and Benefits

The CDC reports that pets may lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and decrease feelings of loneliness, while increasing opportunities for exercise, outdoor activities and socialization.

Medical studies going back at least 30 years have documented the clinical value of pets to cardiac patients, those hospitalized with mental illnesses and the elderly.

Sharing our resting hours with our pets may be a source of psychological comfort, but because pets can bring a wide range of zoonotic pathogens into our environment, sharing is also associated with risks, the authors of the current study reported.

For example:

•A 9-year-old boy from Arizona got the plague because he slept with his flea-infested cat.
•A 48-year-old man and his wife repeatedly contracted MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which their physicians eventually attributed to their dog. The animal "routinely slept in their bed and frequently licked their face," the California experts reported.
Kissing pets can also transmit zoonoses. A Japanese woman contacted meningitis after kissing her pet's face.

But disease can easily be transmitted by your pet kissing you. The study cited cases where a woman died of septic shock and renal failure after her cat, with whom she slept, licked open sores on her feet and toes. In another case, a 44-year-old man died of infection after his German shepherd puppy licked open abrasions on his hands.

Your pet's food can also be a source of disease. A study published last August in the journal Pediatrics tracked an outbreak of salmonella in 79 people between 2006 and 2008 that was caused by contaminated meat in dry cat and dog food.

Half of the victims were children, who CDC investigators said "might also have played with the pet food and then put their hands -- or the food itself -- in their mouths."

The disease also could have come from pets who rolled or played in their feces, where salmonella can stay alive for up to 12 weeks.

Where do our pets they pick up these diseases? Fleas are a likely starting point. And most of your pets will eat the droppings of other animals.

Take a dog to any beach, park or trail through the woods almost anywhere and watch the speed at which it will find something really foul-smelling and dead in which to roll.

Cats usually do their own killing for food and fun. And just think about the infectious bugs that laced the dead and dying rodents, birds and other critters they eat or try to bring into the home.

What Can Be Done?

The two senior veterinarians say several things can be done to reduce the threat of disease. The main one is for owners to ensure the health of their pets by seeking regular professional checkups and care. Other points include:

•Persons, especially young children or immunocompromised persons, should be discouraged from sharing their bed with their pets or regularly kissing their pets.
•Any area licked by a pet, especially an open wound, should be immediately washed with soap and water.
•Pets should be kept free of parasites, especially fleas; routinely de-wormed; and regularly examined by a veterinarian.
•Preventive measures such as administering anthelmintic drugs for flatworms -- and drugs for flukes, tapeworms and other parasites -- to puppies or kittens within the first few weeks after birth or, even better, to their mothers during the last few weeks of pregnancy. This could help prevent most cases of human toxocariasis, which can cause severe and sometimes permanent vision problems for young children.
The risk of getting sick from being close with your pets is real, but most of the diseases they pass on to humans can be identified and eliminated by regular veterinary care.

Meanwhile, start practicing saying "Get off the bed. I mean it this time."

this is one of the reasons I don't let my dog sleep with me. Other than being a huge 75 pound dog that takes up much of the room of the bed as though he where a dude, I see him get into all sorts of nasty stuff outside and in the house. I love to snuggle with my dog but I do draw the line at letting him sleep on the bed with me.

[Lynn]

Very interesting. Thanks, SN.

[joe-eyeball]

This thing is dumb. You more than likely could contract any of those diseases whether you sleep with your pets or not. Also, I wonder what the actual statistics are when considering how people take care of their pets. Poor care leads to poor health of a pet. Are these cats, outdoor cats or indoor cats? Are the pets kept clean, or not? This report sounds as if it has plenty of holes in it. Then again, one is free to take from it what they will. Nothing to fear or really to think about here.

[Raph's Girl]

I got ring worm from one of my cats when I was like 6 and for years after that I STILL let my animals sleep with me. But these days I don't mostly cuz it's annoying. I keep my door closed at night. Yeah during the day my cat does sleep on my bed but at night. Off he goes.

[Katie]

I never let my animals sleep with me. The dog has her own bed and the cat is not allowed in my bedroom at all. Both are penned up when I'm not there to supervise because I don't want them on the sofa, table, or counters either.

To me, there I nothing more disgusting than going into someone's home and seeing a cat walking all over the counters and table.

[BoggleKng]

well my girlfriend should be dead cause she has been sleeping with her cats for the 20 years and she cleans the cat box by hand lol ....if your cat or dog is healthy you do not have anything to worry about.

[Storm Eagle]

Originally Posted by BoggleKng

Well my girlfriend should be dead cause she has been sleeping with her cats for the 20 years and she cleans the cat box by hand lol ....if your cat or dog is healthy you do not have anything to worry about.

I would hope not. I'd like to get a cat, and I live in a studio apartment, and I guess there's nothing I could do if it decided to go and sleep on my bed with me. At least I wouldn't be cleaning the litter box by hand though.

I swear, we can't do anything anymore. Everything is going to make us sick and kill us, and we're going to turn into a world of pansies.

[shuriken]

Originally Posted by Storm Eagle

I swear, we can't do anything anymore. Everything is going to make us sick and kill us, and we're going to turn into a world of pansies.

Ha.
I never sleep with my dog cuz he's huge. hell we keep him in the basement so he won't destroy anything of great importance. Plus I don't let him lick my face cuz when he was younger he was a rat, cat and bird killing machine. Now he's 15 and a lot slower so he does signifincantly less killing.

[triplexxx]

Seems like mere sleeping alongside pets is the least of any preventive measures stated here, do whatever else they're suggesting and it shouldn't be an issue how close one gets to their pets.

[Storm Eagle]

Originally Posted by shuriken

Ha.
I never sleep with my dog cuz he's huge. Hell we keep him in the basement so he won't destroy anything of great importance. Plus I don't let him lick my face cuz when he was younger he was a rat, cat and bird killing machine. Now he's 15 and a lot slower so he does significantly less killing.

If you're going to be keeping your dog in your basement, I hope it gets a good amount of time outside, getting some exercise and maybe played with. Otherwise, I don't see the point in even having it at all.

I've had dogs lick my face before. Not sure how I could have gotten them to stop that though. It's a positive gesture in which they express their approval of you anyway.

[JaffleMan]

Originally Posted by Raph's Girl

I STILL let my animals sleep with me. But these days I don't mostly cuz it's annoying.

tap.... tap... tap
Meow?
tap... tap... tap
Berderurrrppp!!!
Meow?
Meow?
meow?
....
.....
....

tap... tap.... tap



Like that??? :p

[Leogeddon]

Your pet can kill you just by sleeping with you now... is that what they're researching??
What DOESN'T kill you these days? Oh yeah! I just read online that masturbation helps PREVENT prostate cancer, well, at least we got SOME good news from these half-witted "scientists".

[gobo]

I've fought this nagging urge long enough... Ya know what else can kill you? Dinosaurs.

[Leogeddon]

Originally Posted by gobo

I've fought this nagging urge long enough... Ya know what else can kill you? Dinosaurs.

That's true, the only reason why they wouldn't be eating you is because they just got done eating someone else. I wouldn't trust those guys with my life.
I also heard that breathing can kill you, I suppose we should all stop breathing.

[Teddy]

Well, I'm a zookeeper and I'm pretty sure I'm more likely to pick up something from my critters at work than from my cat snuggling next to me at night. Just don't french your dog or eat his poo and you should be fine.

[gobo]

But, I thought a dog's mouth was cleaner than a human's. Seth Green said so in that one ep of Weird Science, and Weird Science wouldn't lie. *goes back to encoding the perfect, wish-granting woman who can magically pop out of the computer* @_@

[Sage Ninja]

yeah...all comments aside, I think it's common sense that if you don't keep your pet clean or let them lick open seeping wounds after it had a rotting rat carcus in it's mouth you can catch something from it...

But hell yeah I agree Barney the Dino will certainly kill you and your family if you let him sleep with you. Thats the real reason he went off the air. Sleeping with the kids and making them sick. Same deal with Blues Clues.

[BubblyShell22]

I think as long as the pet is healthy, there shouldn't be a problem. My sis's dog, Toby, licks me all the time. It's a sign of affection for them. Granted, I don't let him lick me if he's eaten poop of any kind, but other than that, he's free to do as he wants. I think people are taking this too far and shouldn't be too worried.

[Storm Eagle]

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

I think as long as the pet is healthy, there shouldn't be a problem. My sis's dog, Toby, licks me all the time. It's a sign of affection for them. Granted, I don't let him lick me if he's eaten poop of any kind, but other than that, he's free to do as he wants. I think people are taking this too far and shouldn't be too worried.

Licking animal droppings isn't something a dog should be doing anyway.

[BubblyShell22]

Yeah, but Toby tends to do that. I'm not sure why.