Dr. Wood: Yeah, we all love animals, but follow these tips so they don’t make you sick

Humans — especially young humans — love animals. We look for opportunities to interact at farms, petting zoos, fairs, and even in our own backyards.

But it’s important to use good sense and best practices when we visit with animal friends to prevent zoonotic diseases — illnesses that people get from animals.

This can happen in several ways:

• Direct contact. When a person pets or touches an infected animal and comes in contact with saliva, urine, feces or other bodily fluids. Bites or scratches fall into this category as well.
• Indirect contact. Touching or otherwise coming in contact with objects or surfaces that are contaminated by germs from an infected animal. Things like aquariums, chicken coops, pet food dishes, and even soil are a few examples.
• Vector-borne. Being bitten by a tick, flea or mosquito.
• Foodborne. Eating food that was contaminated by an infected animal.

One of the most common animal-to-person illnesses is Salmonella, a bacterial infection that can be serious. While Salmonella can be found in reptiles like lizards and turtles, and amphibians such as frogs, it is also common in poultry. Holding those sweet cheeping ducklings and chicks can be a joy, especially for children, but it’s important to know the risks. Kids are more likely to put their hands in their mouths than adults, and may not be as careful when they’re washing up.

Giardia is a common parasite that can infect humans and is also found in dogs, cats, goats, cows and wild animals. The most common way to become infected is through drinking untreated water — such as swallowing water while tubing down a river, for example. The water itself becomes contaminated by wastes from animals that are infected with the parasite.

Both Salmonella and Giardia have symptoms that resemble stomach flu, and might include diarrhea, stomach cramps, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, as well as headache, fever and chills.

There are some easy ways to help prevent these, and other, zoonotic diseases. The most important thing you can do to protect your health, and the health of your family, is to wash hands with soap and water directly after handling any animal.

Other best practices include:

• Restrict access for very young children. They are more at risk for severe illness.
• Supervise kids when they handle poultry or other animals.
• If you have backyard poultry, keep them out of your home, and be sure to disinfect any areas of the home where they, or their feeders, cages, or other equipment, have contact.
• Wash fruits and vegetables well before eating.
• Wash your hands before eating.

This summer there are sure to be lots of opportunity to take the family out for adventures, and make some new animal friends — the Thurston County Fair is just around the corner, for example! Be sure to visit safely by using best practices to avoid getting sick.

This story was originally published July 20, 2018 at 5:47 PM.