Anyone who s ever lived with a companion animal knows that the unconditional love and acceptance we receive from them is unlike what we generally experience with our human relationships. This is especially important to us when our human contact diminish through, for example, aging or isolation because of disease. If our immune system becomes suppressed through age, disease, or medical treatments, we become more vulnerable to infections, and may become fearful of contact with other living creatures, including our companion animals. No, its not what you find on the faces of elephants. Until recently, zoonotic diseases touched few lives in this country.
Current evidence supports the fact that pets pose a minimal risk.
This brochure will review general guidelines for minimizing your risk of catching a disease from an animal. If you are immunosuppressed and either have an animal companion or want to adopt one, carefully review these guidelines with your physician and your animal s veterinarian. Follow these guidelines to help keep your pets healthy. Keep in mind that a little preventive care can go a long way in maintaining your animal s health, and a healthy animal is less likely to pick up diseases and transmit them to you . Diet Feed your pet a high quality commercial diet that is designed for your animal and his or her stage of life.