While it’s widely known that animals can transmit disease to humans – the swine flu (H1N1) and bird flu, for example – recent studies show that people can also transmit disease to their pets, and vice versa.
Veterinarians and scientists are trying to understand what is called “reverse zoonosis” better so it can be prevented.
Very few cases of reverse zoonosis are known. Most notable was the transmission of the H1N1 virus from a woman to her cat in 2009. The cat, who lived indoors and had no exposure to other sick people or animals, died of flu-related pneumonia.
From 2011 to 2012, 13 cats and one dog are believed to have been infected with H1N1 by their pet parents. Both people and pets showed the same symptoms: severe respiratory problems and lack of appetite.
Veterinary researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) and Iowa State University (ISU) are in the process of finding more examples to study.
“We worry a lot about zoonoses, the transmission of diseases from animals to people,” said Christiane Loehr, an associate professor in the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine, in a news release. “But most people don’t realize that humans can also pass diseases to animals, and this raises questions and concerns about mutations, new viral forms and evolving diseases that may potentially be zoonotic. And, of course, there is concern about the health of the animals.”
It’s not only flu viruses that can be transmitted between people and their pets. A study in Japan last year, published last month in the Archives of Oral Biology, found that cavities, gum disease and other dental problems can be transmitted between the mouths of pet parents and their dogs.
In the study, the dogs that had the most contact with their pet parents also had the highest amount of human periodontal bacteria in their dental plaque. As for the humans, the mouth bacteria P. gulae, which is unusual in people, was present even in pet parents who had little contact with their dogs.
Based on these studies, researchers advise pet parents who are sick to avoid close contact with their dogs – and to maybe think twice before giving their pooches a smooch on the lips.
PHOTO: Mike Baird
