Pets can sometimes be reservoirs of diseases that infect humans. Most viruses and organisms that cause illness are species specific, or specially adapted to the host they infect. When a disease is able to make the leap from our pet to us, it is referred to as zoonotic.

The most important historical zoonotic disease is the Plague that ravaged Europe in the 1300’s killing tens of millions of people. Primarily a disease of rats and wild rodents, the Plague is transmitted from animal to animal by the bites of infected fleas, with humans as the accidental host when the rat dies and the fleas look for a warmer host.

Today, the number of potential zoonotic diseases is impressive. Let’s look at some of the more common dog and cat diseases that may pose a threat to humans.

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Lots of pet owners are under the impression that fleas and ticks are a “summer problem”. Actually, during the wintertime, these critters are looking for a warm place to live, and your pets fur is the perfect spot. Ticks will crawl or fall onto your pet, attach to the skin and eventually swell up with blood, which is when they can infect your pet.

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While people battle stuffy noses and watery eyes at the peak of this allergy season, we are not the only one’s suffering from the sniffles and sneezes. Our pets are also experiencing the irritation of allergies, too.

The respiratory system is the primary target of allergies for humans, but for our pets, the skin is the major target, so severe itching and scratching, which may lead to raw and irritated areas on the skin, are the main symptoms to look for. The most common pet allergy is the fleabite allergy, however, fleas may not be the only reason behind your pet’s discomfort.

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According to a state health official and University of Texas researchers, Chagas disease, a tropical parasitic disease that can lead to life-threatening heart and digestive disorders, may be more widespread in Texas than previously thought.

The disease that claims thousands of lives in Latin America each year is often transmitted by triatomine insects, also known as “assassin bugs” or "kissing bugs." Central and South Texas are the two highest-risk areas in the state for Chagas, according to Sahotra Sarkar, a professor of integrative biology and philosophy who has been studying the disease for five years.

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