Pets can bring great pleasure to people and can even be good for human health. But it's also important to remember that pets can also pass on diseases to people. Some common infections include gastroenteritis, skin diseases and worms.
Birds can also pass on an infection called psittacosis.
These problems can be prevented by simple rules of hygiene-make sure any children in the family understand these rules too. Wash hands carefully after touching pets and pet's meat- especially before handling food. Keep food for humans away from pets and keep pets off kitchen benches and tables. Cook raw pet meat. It's very important not to feed raw offal to dogs-this meat can carry worms which can be passed on to animals.