Shelter Giardia outbreak from birds?
The Redlands Animal Shelter in California is looking into bird control measures after blaming Giardia infections in dogs on exposure to wild bird poop. On Facebook, Redlands Friends of Shelter Animals have declared "We have a serious problem with birds at the shelter. They land on the kennels and poop goes into the water bowls and give the dogs giardia - which is a parasite that gives them explosive diarrhea."
Giardia is a protozoal parasite that can cause diarrhea in dogs and other species. It can also be carried by healthy dogs, at relatively high rates in some groups. The scope of the problem at the Redlands shelter isn't clear since the news article only talks about one case. Whatever the scope, shelter management is blaming the birds.
Apparently, discussions are underway with different companies about a solution to the bird problem, something that is anticipated to be expensive. However, it's all too common for people to jump the gun on expensive interventions when there's an outbreak and overlook the root causes. While news reports don't always give the whole story, I'd be wary about blaming birds without much more evidence.
Can wild birds carry Giardia? Yes. However, there's more to the Giardia story than that. It doesn't sound like they've actually tested the bird feces to determine whether Giardia is there. Additionally (and critically) it doesn't sound like they've determined the type of Giardia that's infecting the dogs. There are different types (assemblages) of Giardia and most have a limited range of species they can infect. The vast majority of dogs with Giardia in most regions are infected by Assemblage D, a dog-specific strain that comes from other dogs and poses no risk to people. I'm not aware of Assemblage D being found in birds. Dogs can also be infected by Assemblage A, a type that infects people, and also can infect birds.
So, if Assemblage D is involved, they need to look at transmission between dogs within the shelter. If Assemblage A is involved, they still need to focus on dogs but could investigate birds as a potential source.
Overall, Giardia transmission is much more likely due to breakdowns in cleaning, disinfection, hand hygiene and general shelter practices rather than birds pooping in water bowls. It's a lot cheaper to address these shelter management practices (which will also help control various other infectious diseases) rather than dumping a lot of money into controlling bird exposure when in fact that may not be causing the problem. Trying to reduce exposure to bird poop is a good thing as a general practice, but it's important to focus efforts and resources on finding and addressing the true root problems during an outbreak.
More information about Giardia can be found on the Worms & Germs Resources page.
Giardia in dogs and cats in Ontario
Dr. Andrew Peregrine, a veterinary parasitologist at the Ontario Veterinary College, presented some data about the types of Giardia found in dogs and cats in Ontario at this week's University of Guelph Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses annual meeting.
A lot of attention has been paid to Giardia types in recent years. That's because, contrary to earlier thoughts, it's now known that certain types (also called assemblages) of Giardia can infect multiple species while others are host specific (i.e. they only infect one species). This is very important because if a dog or cat is shedding Giardia in their stool, the type determines whether there is any risk to people.
In the Ontario study, 75 canine and 13 feline Giardia-positive fecal samples were typed. In canine samples, assemblage D accounted for 68% of samples, while assemblage C accounted for 31%. These two are dog-specific, meaning 99% of typed canine samples contained only dog-specific types and were therefore no risk to human health. The other sample contained assemblage B, a zoonotic type that infects humans and animals. In contrast, 13/13 of the feline samples were assemblage A, a zoonotic type of Giardia.
These recent Ontario data indicate a low risk of transmission of Giardia from dogs to people, but some risk from cats - at least in Ontario. It's important to note that there appears to be geographic variation in this trend. Other recent studies have reported similar results, with the predominance of dog-specific types in dogs. However, a few studies have shown a predominance of the zoonotic assemblage A in dogs. These have mainly been in low socioeconomic status areas with infrastructure challenges that could increase the chance of dogs being exposed to human feces. Therefore, it may be that in areas where there is good sanitation, dogs are most likely to get Giardia from other dogs. When there are sanitation challenges, dogs may be more likely to be exposed to human types. So, it's important to know trends in different geographic regions to understand the risk of transmission from pets to humans.
Chinchillas and Giardia
One concern with uncommon pets is our relatively poor understanding of the infectious agents they may carry. For our "established" pet species, we have a reasonable understanding of what bugs tend to be present and which animals may be at higher risk. The less common the pet, the less research tends to be available, making it harder to assess risks and determine what types of prevention programs need to be in place.
A recent study published in Veterinary Parasitology (Levecke et al. 2010) provides information about chinchillas and the parasite Giardia. This Belgian study involved collection of stool samples from 80 healthy pet chinchillas from 4 households and 4 breeders. They identified Giardia in a rather astounding 66% of samples. Young animals were more likely to be infected, as were animals that participated in shows (I didn't realize there were chinchilla shows).
A subset of samples were typed using molecular techniques to determine the Assemblage (strain/type) of the Giardia. This is very important from a human health standpoint, because some types of Giardia can infect both animals and humans, while others are more host-specific. Most samples (86%) contained Assemblage B. However, a combination of different Assemblages was common, and Assemblages C (71%), A (52%) and E (9.5%) were also found. Importantly, all positive samples contained at least one of Assemblages A or B, which are types that can cause disease in people. Assemblage C is typically associated with dogs and Assemblage E with livestock, so those results were a little surprising.
What does this tell us? It tells us that a large percentage of healthy chinchillas may be shedding Giardia in their stool, and that they typically shed types that can cause disease in people.
Does this mean people are getting sick from pet chinchillas? Not necessarily, but it indicates there is a risk.
What can chinchilla owners do? It's pretty straightforward. Giardia has to go from the animal's stool to a person's mouth to cause infection. The use of good general management and hygiene practices (especially handwashing) should greatly reduce the risks. As the folks at Barfblog say, "don't eat poop."
Should chinchillas be tested for Giardia? Probably not. A single negative result does not necessarily mean Giardia isn't there or that it never will be. Given the numbers reported here, it's best to go on the assumption that every chinchilla is (or could be) positive, and take appropriate precautions.
Dogs and Giardia types
While the potential health risks to people exposed to dogs with Giardia have received a lot of attention (and concern), there's more and more evidence indicating that dogs pose a very limited risk to people. Giardia is a protozoal parasite that can cause diarrhea in numerous animal species, including people and dogs. It can also be found in healthy individuals, with several reports describing evidence of Giardia in the feces of approximately 7% of healthy dogs.
In the recent past, as easier-to-perform tests for Giardia became available, people sometimes tested healthy animals for the parasite, and then had to figure out what to do with positive but healthy pets. It has not been unusual for such dogs to be treated because of concerns about the potential for infecting people. However, it's becoming increasing clear that this risk is minimal.
The reason the risk is so low is due to the fact that not all Giardia are created alike. There are different assemblages (types) of Giardia, and not all types can infect all species. Knowing the types found in dogs and the types that cause illness in people can tell a lot about the potential human health risk. One more recent study has indicated that risk of animal-to-human transmission is likely very small.
In that study (Itoh et al, Veterinary Parasitology 2010), researchers tested fecal samples from 1794 puppies in pet stores in Japan. Giardia was detected in 23% of puppies. This is a pretty high number but it's not really surprising, as this highly mixed population of young, stressed animals would be considered high-risk compared to the average pet dog. All Giardia were assemblages C or D, which are dog-specific. Therefore, despite 23% of the puppies shedding Giardia, none posed a risk for human infection.
Yes, Giardia is a zoonotic infection, but the risk of dogs infecting people appears to be very low because dogs so rarely carry the types able to infect people. Beyond that, this is a "don't eat poop" disease, whereby the use of good hygiene practices to prevent inadvertent ingestion of Giardia from dog feces can reduce the risks even further.
Giardia in London (UK) shelter
A recent paper in the journal Veterinary Parasitology (Upjohn et al 2010) described a study looking at Giardia infections in dogs in a central London shelter. The researchers collected a fecal samples from dogs within 1 day of arrival and tested them for Giardia.
- 21% of dogs were shedding Giardia on arrival at the shelter.
- Shedding rates were higher in younger dogs.
- Of the samples that were genotyped, almost all were Assemblages (types) C and D, the dog-specific types that are not thought to be able to cause disease in people.
This is one more study highlighting a couple of important facts about the protozoal parasite Giardia:
- Giardia is common and can be found in healthy and diarrheic dogs. Studies of healthy pet populations typically reported lower rates than the 21% found here, but it is not uncommon to find Giardia in approximately 7% of healthy pet dogs.
- Young dogs are more likely to be infected. That's also true for various other intestinal microorganisms that can cause disease.
- The majority of dogs that are shedding Giardia are infected with types that do not infect people. This is an important point and it needs to be considered when people are worried about infections from dogs (or trying to blame pets for human infections). There is limited risk of transmission of Giardia from pets to people. That doesn't, however, mean no risk. Since a small percentage of dogs can shed Giardia types that can infect people, common sense should be used when handling dog feces. Even if a zoonotic strain of Giardia is present in a dog's stool, it has to make it to someone's mouth to have a chance of causing an infection. Proper handling of feces and basic hygiene practices (especially hand hygiene) should greatly reduce the already low risks.
Giardia outbreak closes shelter
A Fort McMurray (Alberta) SPCA shelter has been closed because of a Giardia outbreak. Giardia is an intestinal parasite that can cause diarrhea in dogs (and other species, including people) but can also be found in about 7% of healthy dogs. Giardia infection was confirmed in four dogs in the shelter, which led to the rather aggressive measure of closing the shelter. Shelter personnel suspect that the infection started with one dog, who spread the parasite to some other dogs that were in close contact with it. Giardia is passed in stool and animals get infected by ingesting Giardia oocysts from stool contamination in their environment or water sources.Giardia usually causes pretty mild disease that gets better on its own or with treatment. Shelter personnel stated "We are in desperate need for help from the public as far as raising funds for medical, because obviously it costs a lot of money to treat the dogs. It's a lot of money to treat an animal with giardia." It's actually pretty cheap to treat individual cases, but this makes me wonder whether they are treating all dogs in the shelter. That's not something I'd recommend because there's little evidence that treatment of non-diarrheic animals is needed or useful.
Presumably this outbreak (whether it was caused by Giardia or something else) will end soon, either because of or despite of what was done. You never know if you did something to control the outbreak or whether it just ran its natural course. If it truly was Giardia, I'd be surprised if there are more problems, but resolution of the outbreak won't change the fact that many dogs that they bring in will be shedding the organism.
Giardia is a cause of diarrhea in people, but we now know that dogs probably play only a minor role in human disease. The type of Giardia that is most often found in dogs is a dog-specific type (Assemblage D) that cannot infect people. Unless these dogs were infected with a strain that can infect people (uncommon but not impossible), there's no risk to people. Regardless, avoiding contact with stool, especially diarrhea, is still a good idea - for prevention of Giardia and other diseases.
Giardia in dog parks
There is a recent paper in Preventive Veterinary Medicine about a study of Giardia in canine stool samples collected from urban green areas around Pisa, Italy (Papini et al). The authors went to parks and similar areas and collected stool samples off the ground. They then tested the samples for the presence of Giardia and (very importantly) tested the Giardia to determine whether they were types that typically only infect dogs or whether they were types also found in people.
They found that 31% of stool samples contained Giardia. That's higher than in some recent North American reports. The number of Giardia cysts ranged from 2 to 1428 per gram of feces. Less than 1% of the Giardia were types that are of concern for transmission to people. Therefore, they concluded that parks pose a risk to dogs, since there is a good likelihood that dogs could be exposed to Giardia. However, the risk to people from Giardia found in these parks is minimal given the types that were found.
The risks to dogs and people can be decreased by the simple act of picking up poop.
More information about Giardia can be found on the Worms & Germs Resources page, and in our archives.
More on Giardia in healthy dogs
New research provides more information on the debate about testing and treating of healthy dogs for Giardia. Two abstracts on the subject by researchers at Colorado State University were presented at the recent American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine conference.
In the first study (Clark et al), fecal samples were collected from 220 healthy dogs. Giardia was detected in 11.4% of samples, but no dogs carried assemblages (types) known to cause disease in people.
In the second study (Lappin et al), they evaluated whether treatment of healthy dogs that were shedding Giardia would eliminated the parasite. Sixteen infected dogs were treated with either fenbendazole or nitazoxanide. Eight (50%) of the dogs had to be removed from the study because of adverse effects from treatment! Of the dogs that completed the study, Giardia was still detected in 63% of dogs 34 days after treatment, indicating that the infection wasn't eliminated or that dogs were quickly re-infected.
These studies provide more support of the notion that there is no indication to test or treat healthy dogs for Giardia. Testing makes no sense when the parasite is so common but most infected dogs are healthy, and when strains carried by infected dogs are usually of no consequence to people. Giardia is essentially a normal part of the intestinal microflora in many healthy dogs. Treatment of healthy carriers isn't indicated because it can make dogs sick and because it doesn't work very well. Remember: above all do no harm.
The bottom line is don't bother testing healthy dogs for Giardia or treating healthy dogs in normal households.
Giardia and high-risk households
Giardia is a relatively common protozoal parasite that can cause diarrhea in people and dogs (among other species). It can also be present in healthy pets, with most studies reporting Giardia shedding in approximately 7% of healthy dogs. While recent research indicates that a large percentage of dogs with Giardia carry types that do not infect people, this parasite is still a concern, particularly in households high-risk households with immunocompromised individuals, very young children and elderly persons.
What do I do if I'm in a high-risk household and my dog is diagnosed with Giardia?
- Genotyping of Giardia from the dog to see if it is a strain that affects humans would be ideal, but this is not readily available outside research labs. Maybe in the future this will become a standard test.
- The dog should be treated according to your veterinarian's instructions. The entire treatment course must be completed.
- All other dogs and cats in the house should be treated at the same time, even if they have been tested and were negative, because we want to avoid "cycling" of Giardia between the pets.
- All animals should be bathed on the first and last day of treatment to reduce the risk of re-infection from Giardia cysts on the fur. This should not be performed by high-risk individuals, and is probably best done at a veterinary clinic or groomer to reduce bathroom contamination, if bathing can't be done outside.
- All animals should be tested after treatment to ensure the infection has been eliminated. This is usually done about 5 days after the last treatment. If antigen testing is used, some animals will still have positive results 5 days after treatment because of dead Giardia still working their way out, in which case re-testing at around day 21 post-tretament is recommended.
- Care should be taken to avoid direct and indirect contact with feces. Close attention to handwashing promptly after cleaning up feces or fecal-contaminated areas is very important. Regular handwashing after contact with pets is always important.
Parasite exposure from pets
A recent study from the Netherlands investigated the prevalence of zoonotic parasites in pet feces and on pets' haircoats. The authors sampled feces and fur from dogs and cats, and looked for Toxocara (roundworms), Toxoplasma, Giardia and Cryptosporidium. All these parasites are of concern from a public health standpoint because they can be found in healthy pets and can also infect people.
Toxocara eggs were found on the haircoats of 12% of dogs and 3.4% of cats. Levels were low, ranging from 1-31 eggs per sample. An important aspect of this study was that they also assessed viability of these eggs, and found that none were viable. Therefore, even though eggs were present, they were not relevant because they were dead. Exposure to UV light and lack of humiditiy were cited as possible reasons for the death of the eggs.
Toxocara were found in the feces of 4.4% of dogs and 4.6% of cats, which is consistent with other studies of healthy pets.
Toxoplasma was not found in the feces of any cat. (Cats are the hosts for this parasite so dogs weren't tested.)
Giardia was found in the feces of 15% of dogs and 13.6% of cats. However, when these strains were typed, the vast majority were species-specific types that do not cause disease in people. Only 2 of the 15 Giardia samples were assemblage A, a type that is transmissible from pets to people. This is very important to know because crude Giardia numbers don't tell you the whole story.
Cryptosporidium was found in feces of 8.7% of dogs and 4.6% of cats. However, they were not able to type these parasites to determine if they were species that typically cause infection in humans, or whether they were Cryptosporidium felis or C. canis, which rarely cause disease in people.
The discussion section of the paper contains an interesting and relevant point about exposure to Toxocara eggs on the haircoat of pets. The authors state "Even in the worst case scenario of highly contaminated fur, e.g. with the highest Toxocara [eggs per gram] of 300 and an embryonated rate of 4% from the study of Wolfe and Wright, it is necessary to ingest more than 4 grams of hair, with 12 embryonated eggs per gram, to ingest 50 infective eggs." Based on these data, exposure to parasites from the haircoat of pets is quite unlikely. It might be a greater concern with stray or debilitated animals, or with puppies/kittens, who could have much greater coat contamination.
The take home message: Normal contact with healthy pets likely poses minimal risk of transmission of zoonotic parasites. That being said, regularly washing your hands is still a good idea because of the potential for exposure to other types of microorganisms (e.g. bacteria), and in rare circumstances where there may be large parasite burdens on a pet. Good deworming practices, particularly for puppies and kittens, also need to be considered.
Reference: Overgaauw et al, Veterinary Parasitology, 2009.
Are all Giardia created alike?
Giardia is a protozoal parasite that can cause diarrhea in multiple animal species. This microscopic parasite is a zoonotic pathogen that can be transmitted between animals and humans, and there are conerns about the role of pets in human disease. Various studies have evaluated the presence of Giardia in healthy dogs and, to a lesser degree, cats. Typically these studies report that about 7% of healthy dogs are shedding Giardia in their stool, but all Giardia are not the same in terms of the risk of transmission from dogs to humans. There are various types of Giardia, and some only infect specific animal species and not people. In dogs, assemblages (types) C and D are most commonly reported. These are considered canine-specific types and are therefore not a concern for transmission to humans. Assemblage A is an important zoonotic type which can infect dogs and humans, and this type can certainly be found in healthy dogs, but it seems to be relatively uncommon.
Emerging information about Giardia typing and zoonotic disease risks shows that this is a more complex issue than previously thought. Studies that determine the prevalence of Giardia shedding in dogs and cats are useful, but they only tell part of the story. Comments about the human health implications of Giardia shedding in pets can only be made when information about the Giardia assemblages found in these animals is also reported.
More information about Giardia can be found on the Worms & Germs Resources page.
Dog park closed because of bleach contamination
A dog park was closed because of an attempt by a dog-owner to disinfect puddles. The woman was seen pouring a gallon of bleach into a mud puddle, sparking an investigation. The site was closed while city staff pumped out puddles. The woman told the person that witnessed and reported the incident that her dog had contracted the intestinal parasite Giardia in the park, and she was trying to sanitize the water. However, authorities believe it may in fact have been a malicious act (i.e. an attempt to poison the dogs using the park).
Firstly, there's no way the woman could know that the park (let alone a specific puddle) was the source of her dog's infection. Giardia can be found in the environment and in the stool of a small percentage of healthy dogs (~7% in many studies).- Secondly, pouring a toxic substance into the puddles in the park is obviously not an appropriate response. Bleach is a good disinfectant when it's used right, but disinfecting outdoor surfaces like this is essentially impossible. Organic debris (e.g. mud) will readily inactivate bleach, but the bleach could still make an animal sick if too much (too high a concentration) is swallowed, because it's very caustic.
- Thirdly, for this woman to take matters into her own hands like this without consulting someone who knows something about infectious diseases, and potentially exposing a lot of animals to high levels of bleach is irresponsible. If there was concern about the park as a source of infection, the appropriate response would have been to talk to city staff.
In reality, the risk to other dogs was probably pretty low. It’s pretty obvious when there's a lot of bleach somewhere (even just based on the smell), and in general dogs would probably be very reluctant to drink bleach-contaminated water.
One officer stated that he suspects the Giardia story was an excuse contrived by the woman when confronted by the passer-by who witnessed the bleaching incident. That’s certainly possible, but I’m surprised someone would come up with a specific excuse like Giardia. If the woman is found, that should be easy to figure out - the diagnosis would have to be in her dog's medical record. Police stated that the woman, if identified by the authorities, could potentially face animal cruelty charges. I think that’s pretty unlikely, considering what usually has to happen for someone to actually be charged and convicted of animal cruelty. I suspect this really was an overzealous response by someone who lacks common sense. There was no comment about whether the woman would be billed for the city staff time required to deal with the clean up - that might be a more effective deterrent to similar incidents in the future!
Parks are inherently a high-risk environment for exposure to infectious diseases. Whenever you mix large numbers of animals, especially in an area where they often pass stool, there is an increased risk of disease transmission. You have to accept that when going to a park. People should also ensure that they never take a sick animal to a park, promptly clean up stool, and may sure that their pet is on an appropriate vaccination and deworming program. Disinfection of a park will never be part of the infection control program.
More information about Giardia can be found on the Worms&Germs Resources page.
Research finds 10% of dogs may make their owners sick
This rather sensational title is from a Murdoch University (Australia) news article regarding a study of intestinal parasites in Australian dogs. It certainly grabs one's attention. For me, the article brings to mind two different trains of thought:
1) Far more than 10% of dogs could make their owners sick. Be it dogs, cats, rabbits, iguanas or anything else, every pet is carrying something that could cause an infection in a person in certain situations. If a study says that only X% of dogs/cats carry some sort of zoonotic pathogen (and X isn't 100), then they didn't test hard enough or they didn't test for enough things. Every animal - and every person - is carrying something that can make others sick. However, even though all pets carry zoonotic pathogens, most of these are of minimal concern to most people, and therefore the likelihood of most pets making their owners sick is relatively low. We have to remember, however, that there is no such thing as "no risk" pet contact, just as there's no such thing as "no risk" contact between people.
2) The 10% figure from this study refers to the percentage of dogs that were shedding the intestinal parasite Giardia. This parasite can cause disease in people and that's why there is concern. However, the 10% figure isn't really surprising, as the press release states, because previous studies from different areas in the world have reported Giardia shedding by 7-10% of healthy dogs. The real question is, what is the risk to people from these dogs? The short answer is: we don't know. Not all types of Giardia found in dogs are able to cause disease in people. Figuring out what type of Giardia a dog is shedding requires fairly specialized testing, and there's no indication that this was performed for this study. If most dogs carry strains that don't infect people, then the risk is very different than if most dogs were carrying zoonotic strains. Furthermore, we don't know how often Giardia is transmitted between people and pets in any situation. At this point, there is actually very little information regarding transmission of Giardia from pets to people. That being said, it's better to err on the side of caution and assume that Giardia could be transmitted from pets to people, at least until we have good evidence otherwise.
I'm not trying to dismiss the potential concerns about Giardia in dogs, nor do I think the study isn't useful. It's an interesting study that has provided new information about intestinal parasite carriage in dogs in Australia. However, it doesn't really tell us anything new about the risk to humans.
Professor Andrew Thompson, Murdoch's Head of Parasitology gives some good advice when he states "As a result of these new findings, dog owners should be aware of the signs of Giardia and how to prevent infection in their pets. If you suspect that your dog may be infected with Giardia, it is important you visit your local vet for a full diagnosis.”
More information about Giardia can be found on the Worms&Germs Resources page.
Photo: Giardia trophozoite (CDC Public Health Image Library #8698/Janice Carr)
Banning Bowser from the beach
Many dog owners love to take their canine companions to the beach with them during the summer. Unfortunately, other people (particularly non-dog owners) sometimes take exception to having Bowser on the beach. These individuals often cite potential infectious disease risks as a reason to ban dogs from the beach.
While there are some potential infectious disease risks associated with having pet dogs at the beach, they are minimal. Also, some simple, common-sense steps can greatly reduce the risks that do exist. The infectious disease risks from feral (wild) dogs and wildlife defecating in the sand are much greater.
- The biggest health risk is actually probably from dog bites. Bites can be avoided through proper handling and training of dogs that are brought to public beaches.
- Many different bacteria (e.g. Salmonella, Campylobacter) can be passed in the stool of even healthy dogs. Some of these can be harmful to people, but only under certain circumstances, such as if they are swallowed or if they contaminate an open wound.
- Promptly picking up any stool passed by a dog greatly reduces the risk of significant contamination of the sand. Also, sunlight is an excellent “disinfectant” and will help kill any residual bacteria left behind.
- Dogs can also have different kinds of zoonotic parasites in their stool.
- Some of these parasites (e.g. roundworms, hookworms) are passed in a form that takes days to become infectious to people. So promptly removing dog stool from the beach minimizes the risk of transmission.
- Other parasites, such as Giardia, are immediately infectious when passed in the stool, but must be swallowed to cause infection. Prompt removal of dog stool, good hand hygiene with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer before eating, and avoiding sand contamination of food and drink should largely eliminate this risk as well.
Overall, the risks of having dogs on beaches are very low if people behave responsibly, specifically properly restraining their dogs and promptly picking up stool.
More information about zoonotic diseases associated with contamination of sand and Sandboxes is available on the Worms & Germs Resources page.
Information Sheets for Pet Owners
INFORMATION SHEETS specifically for KIDS, for VETERINARIANS, for PHYSICIANS and for PUBLIC HEALTH PERSONNEL are also available on the Worms & Germs RESOURCES page!
Click on the highlighted topics below for information sheets. Topics that are not highlighted are in development and coming soon. Sheets for other animal species and diseases are also under development and will be added when they are available.
| Animals | Diseases | Other |
| Dogs | Rabies | Litter Boxes |
| Cats | Giardia | Sandboxes |
| Turtles | Toxoplasma | Cat Bites |
| Hamsters | Leptospira | Raw Meat |
| Rabbits | Clostridium difficile | Petting Zoos |
| Pet Birds | Cryptosporidium | Needlestick Injuries |
| Reptiles | MRSA | |
| MRSP | ||
| Salmonella | ||
| Ringworm | ||
| Campylobacter | ||
| Bartonella henselae | ||
Please Remember:
- Your veterinarian and physician are your ultimate resource for information about the health of your pets or your family.
- Information provided here is accurate to the best of our knowledge, but infectious diseases can be unpredictable and these sheets are for general information purposes only.
- There can be great variation in disease risks in different geographic areas. The information provided was developed for Ontario, Canada, but most of the information is relevant for other regions as well.
