Dogs and dead birds
As the owner of a dog that loves to roll in (and eat) anything she finds, I certainly understand the questions that I get about risks to dogs from dead birds. Eating a dead bird is certainly not an appealing thought to us, but overall, the risks to a dog are pretty low. The greatest potential problem is likely gastroenteritis, often referred to as ‘garbage-gut’, which typically causes diarrhea (with or without vomiting) after "dietary indiscretion" (i.e. a dog eating things it shouldn't have). Another concern is Salmonella. Some birds carry Salmonella in their intestinal tracts and dogs could become infected from eating them. This is a bigger problem in cats that hunt birds - salmonellosis in outdoor cats is also referred to as songbird fever. West Nile virus can cause death in birds, especially species such as bluejays and crows, which may then be found by your dog. The risk of transmission of West Nile virus to dogs from eating dead birds is presumably very low. Further, this disease is very rare in dogs and they appear to be quite resistant to the virus.
- Try to prevent your pet from eating/touching dead birds.
- If your pet develops diarrhea after eating a dead bird, it is probably not a health concern for anyone else but Salmonella infection is possible, so consider taking your dog to the veterinarian. This is especially important if the dog appears sick (i.e. besides vomiting and diarrhea, the dog also is not acting like itself) or if there are people in the household that are at higher risk for getting sick from bugs like Salmonella (i.e. infants, people with weakened immune systems). All diarrhea should be considered potentially infectious to other animals and people. Extra care should be taken around affected pets and their stool, including extra attention to hand washing, and disinfecting the site of any "accidents" that occur in the house.
- In some areas where bird testing is performed for West Nile virus or avian influenza surveillance, public health personnel will collect dead birds. Contact your public health department if you are unsure what is done in your region.
- Do not touch dead birds with bare hands.
- Use heavy-duty, leak-proof gloves to place the bird in a leak-proof plastic bag. Alternatively, fold two bags over your hand and use the bag to cover your hand when picking up the bird (like people do when poop-scooping), or use a shovel to place the bird in a bag.
- Double bag the bird.
- If the bird is not being collected for testing, contact your local waste management agency regarding disposal instructions.
- Always wash your hands with soap and water as soon as you're done.
Dog stool and garbage
I received the following question yesterday:
For approximately 20 years I have been involved in waste collection for the Parks Division. A considerable amount of the waste which I collect on a daily basis is dog excrement. This is usually, but not always contained in a plastic bag and thrown into a large garbage barrel which I man-handle and dump in a waste truck. Years ago I contacted the local Health Unit and asked if there was any special health risks associated with this job. They advised me at that time the main danger to health would be with E.coli contamination. I use neoprene gloves while carrying out my duties and of course try to ensure that I do not come in contact with any debris. This is not always possible.
There are 3 main risks with handling dog stool: exposure to bacteria that cause diarrhea, exposure to intestinal parasites and infection of wounds.
Various bacteria that can cause diarrhea can be present in dog stool. These include Salmonella and Campylobacter. E. coli is not a major concern because strains found in dogs are not typically those that cause disease in people. A few intestinal parasites are also of concern, including Giardia and roundworms. The risk of exposure to these is hard to say because you don't know anything about the health status of the dogs, but it's wise to treat all stool as infectious. However, for these to cause disease, they must go from the garbage and into your mouth. The risk of this should be minimal with basic common-sense precautions.
A large number of bacteria present in stool can cause infections of wounds like cuts and scratches, or other skin lesions such as eczema. Direct contact of these lesions with stool would be required to cause infection. The risks of this can also be greatly reduced with basic preventative measures.
Some basic precautions (many of which you are doing) include:
- Wear gloves when handling bags containing stool.
- Change your gloves if they become contaminated with stool.
- Have your gloves cleaned periodically, and whenever they become contaminated. Otherwise, use disposable gloves.
- Promptly wash or disinfect your hands if they become contaminated. Carrying an alcohol-based hand sanitizer in your truck would be useful.
- Wear coveralls or some other sort of outerwear that can be removed easily if contaminated. If your clothing becomes contaminated, change it (and wash your hands after).
- Wash your hands after removing your gloves (and especially before eating).
Overall, the risks to you should be very low.
Reptile shows....wash your hands!!
Last weekend, my family and I went to an (indoor) aviary for an outing because the weather was particularly miserable. A new addition to this facility was a large reptile encounter exhibit. As part of this, people were encouraged to handle a bearded dragon (a type of lizard) and a large python. Contact with the animals was extremely popular with most people, including one of my daughters. She held the snake (twice) and the bearded dragon. Part of me was enjoying the experience and seeing what she got out of the encounter, but the infectious disease side of me had some concerns.
Petting zoos and similar animal contact events carry an inherent risk of infectious disease transmission. Outbreaks of various infectious diseases have been reported, mainly associated with farm animals. Reptiles are a particular concern because they can have high rates of Salmonella carriage. Terrestrial reptiles like bearded dragons and pythons are lower risk than species like aquatic turtles, but these animals can still be the source of salmonellosis in humans.
Petting zoos can be entertaining and educational, and fairly safe if run properly. However, deficiencies are often present. At this facility, there were multiple hand hygiene stations, consisting of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, which are very effective. Food and drink were banned in the area and there were staff supervising all animal contacts. These are all good things, however the best measures are useless if they are not used or enforced. While I made sure that my family carefully cleaned their hands, we were definitely in the minority. The hand hygiene stations were not particularly easy to access and there was't one present at the exit, so if you weren't looking for it you would probably just leave. Further, despite the signs, staff allowed people to eat and drink in the area where they were handling reptiles. Allowing people to eat and drink, and not providing easy access to the hand sanitizers (two pretty basic measures) were major problems and greatly increase the risk of disease transmission.
I'm not suggesting we should avoid petting zoos. My kids enjoy them and we will surely attend a few this summer. The key with animal contact exhibits is common sense....avoid high risk animals, keep you hands out of your mouth and wash your hands thoroughly when leaving (even if you didn't touch an animal since you probably touched other surfaces). Some animal species are particularly high risk, including young poultry and young ruminants (e.g. calves, lambs, goats). Reptiles fit into this high risk group, which is why I had more concern about this event than a standard petting zoo. People with compromised immune systems should avoid animal contact, particularly with calves, chicks, lambs and reptiles.
And above all, WASH YOUR HANDS.
A good source of information about animal contact events and infectious diseases is available from the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians.
Salmonella-contaminated pet food
The CDC has released the findings of an investigation of a prolonged multistate outbreak of salmonellosis that was linked to dry dog food in 2006-2007. This outbreak implicated two different dog food brands, both made by the same manufacturer in the same plant in Pennsylvania, as the source of a particular strain of Salmonella Schwarzengrund. The strain infected numerous people, and was also found in some dry dog food samples and stool samples of dogs that were fed the food, with which the affected people had had contact. No illness was reported in the pets. It is unclear whether people were infected from contact with the food or contact with the pets' stool.
This is the first report of salmonellosis associated with dry pet food. Previous outbreaks have been associated with contact with raw pet treats such as pig's ears. Overall, the risk from contact with dry pet food is quite low, although this outbreak clearly demonstrates that some risk exists. Handwashing after contact with pet food should greatly reduce the already low risk.
This report is certainly not a reason not to feed your dog or cat a commercial pet food. One concern that I have is that this report will (and already seems to) be used by proponents of raw meat diets as support for this feeding practice. Feeding of raw meat has been clearly shown to increase the rates of shedding of potentially dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella. Illness and death from these bacteria have been identified in dogs fed raw meat. The high rates of Salmonella shedding in raw-fed dogs are a significant public health concern, and these concerns have been previously reviewed. Outbreaks of human salmonellosis have not been reported in association with raw meat feeding. This could indicate minimal risk, but could equally be due to lack of identification of sporadic cases that would be more likely with raw food than large-batch commercial contamination or better hand hygiene practices associated with raw meat handling.
- The risk of Salmonella exposure is still much lower with good quality commercial pet food compared to raw meat.
- Wash your hands after handling pet food (of any variety), as well as food and water bowls.
- Care should be taken when handling animal stool to avoid any direct contact with it. Wash your hands after picking/cleaning up any type of stool, even if you use a plastic bag or a designated scoop to do so.
Hazardous hedgehogs
While most people that want a pet stick to the tried-and-true species, there are a huge number of different animals available. Some make good pets, some are relatively harmless but not suitable for most households and some are potentially dangerous. Hedgehogs probably fit into the latter 2 categories.
No...hedgehogs aren't sneaking out of their cages and attacking people as they sleep. Rather, they can carry a variety of microorganisms that can be transmitted to people. There have been a few reports describing infections associated with hedgehogs, particularly Salmonella and ringworm. An excellent report in the
journal Emerging Infectious Diseases highlighted the diseases hedgehogs have been shown to, or could, transmit to people. Hedgehogs don't have to be sick to be a source of infection.
Hedgehogs have been available for years, but they may be a fad pet at the moment. One breeder is quoted as saying “They are going up these last two months we actually have a waiting list about twenty people,” said Sarah Roberts a breeder in Mansfield. “That's never happened in the year’s of breeding we've done.”
While any pet could transmit infections to people, certain pets are higher risk. Overall, species that are rare or 'fad' pets may be of greater concern because we simply don't know much about them (i.e. what diseases they can transmit, how to reduce risks...).
These small creatures can probably be safe pets in some households, but are they really better than other species? You probably should not have a hedgehog if you or someone else in the household has a compromised immune system or if you have small children. If you do have a hedgehog, don't let it roam freely in the house and wash you hands after handling it.
Pet turtles and Salmonella...When will we learn?
A report in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s journal MMWR described a multistate outbreak of human salmonellosis caused by contact with pet turtles. Officials investigated 103 cases of disease cause by a specific type of the Salmonella bacterium. Contact with turtles was identified as an important risk factor for disease. Sixty-three percent (63%) of people infected by this strain of Salmonella reported contact with turtles in the week before getting sick, compared to only 4% of others. Many people that became ill reported having touched a turtle. Some even reported kissing a turtle (don't ask me why... I'm not making this up). Salmonella was cultured from turtles or their aquariums in some households. No fatalities were reported but some people were seriously ill and required hospitalization.
The association between turtles and Salmonella is nothing new. Upwards of 90% of healthy turtles may carry Salmonella bacteria. Antibiotic treatment is not effective at eliminating Salmonella carriage and there is no way to declare a turtle 'Salmonella-free'. People can become 
infected through direct contact with turtles or their environment. Sale of turtles with a shell length of less than 4 inches was banned in the US over 30 years ago. This was because of the strong association between turtles and salmonellosis, particularly in children. Small turtles are more likely to be handled by children and put in their mouths.This measure has been estimated to have prevented 100 000 infections every year, however it is clear that (illegal) small turtles can still be readily purchased from pet stores or other sources. Turtles were less than 4 inches long in 86% of cases in this report where turtle size was reported.
While turtles can be fascinating, they are definitely a high-risk pet. I used to have turtles but wouldn't consider it now that I have young children. There are much better and safer pets for children. They should be avoided by households with children or people whose immune systems may be compromised. People who have pet turtles need to take precautions to reduce the risk of infection, but it cannot be completely eliminated.
More information about turtles can be found in our Resources section.
Horse visits hospital
Recently, a story about a man who brought a horse into a hospital to visit his father was widely reported. The horse apparently made it to the man’s room, which included a trip in an elevator. The son, who appeared intoxicated, was eventually asked to leave (and take the horse with him). Said a hospital spokesperson “We do have a pet visitation policy, but it does not include a horse”. Strangely, the horse that was brought to the hospital apparently wasn’t even the father’s horse (which supports suspicions of the son’s lack of sobriety).
There are guidelines about which animals are appropriate for hospital visits, although it shouldn’t take an expert to figure out that a horse is not an appropriate candidate. Kicks, bites, and trauma from being crushed or run over are among the most obvious concerns. Horses can also carry a variety of bacteria that are potentially dangerous, especially to people in hospitals. These include Salmonella and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). There also aren’t that many house-trained horses out there.
So, while I can easily see how someone in a hospital would like to see his or her horse, there’s no way this should even be considered.
Some closing thoughts
- Would you like to ride in an elevator with a horse?
- Would you like to be stuck in an elevator with a horse?
- Do you think the horse was house trained?
- Do you think any of the healthcare personnel washed their hands after touching the horse?
This isn't the first time a horse has been in hospital, and some even get invited. The picture is from a story in Veterinary Practice News that described a program where horses were brought into hospitals!
UK Chief Vet says no pets in bed
The UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer Fred Landeg recently declared that pets should not be allowed to sleep in peoples’ beds or even be allowed in the bedroom. The reasoning behind this recommendation was the potential for transmission of bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter. This was in response to a publication in the Veterinary Record describing animal-human interactions in households in the UK. It reported that 20% of participants let their dogs sleep in the bedroom and 14% let their dogs sleep in their bed.
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While it is certainly true that any healthy animal (and person) can carry infectious diseases, and that prudence is reasonable, there is simply no evidence supporting this recommendation for the average household. Any contact with pets carries a very slight risk of disease transmission, just like any contact between people. There is currently no evidence, however, that sleeping with a pet in the bed increases the risk of disease. For your average pet and average household, this is probably exceedingly low risk and the recommendation is very difficult to justify. It is a reasonable recommendation when the pet is known to be carrying something that is transmissible to people (such as MRSA or Salmonella) or when a person has a compromised immune system. Banning pets from the bedroom completely doesn’t make any sense.
Personally, my dog is not allowed in my bed. However, that’s not because of disease concerns, it’s because she’s a large dog that snores and certainly can be a bed-hog. I have no problems with my cat on the bed. Life is never completely free of risk. If you enjoy having your pet in the bed, and you’re both healthy, I don’t see a reason to stop.
