dear dr. jones: can my dog make me sick?

most people with a working immune system needn’t worry about toxoplasmosis since their body is capable of preventing illness.   signs  of toxoplasmosis include flu-like symptoms in some people, but most never develop any symptoms. there is, however, a risk of serious complications for babies born to infected mothers, and for people with weakened immune systems.

pregnant women should avoid cleaning cat litter boxes due to the risk to their fetus if they contract the infection, such as damage  to the eyes and the brain. while this parasite is most commonly contracted from consuming under cooked meat or unwashed vegetables, practicing good personal hygiene and wearing a mask while cleaning the litter box is still a good idea. again, if it’s an option, get someone else to do it.

lyme disease is a bacterial infection carried by ticks. while dogs have only about a five per cent risk of getting clinical lyme disease after tick exposure — and cats not at all —humans have an estimated 70 to 80 per cent risk of clinical infection if bitten by a tick carrying the bacteria that causes the disease,  borrelia burgdorferi.

i recommend all my canine patients go on simparica from december to may for tick and flea prevention, and simparica trio   from june to november for the added heartworm prevention. other choices include bravecto, nexguard, and advantix.  for outdoor kitties, revolution plus ^rx  all year round is my preferred option.

leptospirosis infection is a zoonotic bacterial kidney infection found in the urine of wildlife, with raccoons, skunks and rodents being the biggest carriers in urban areas. contracted from exposure to contaminated water or soil, it can also cause liver and severe lung disease in dogs and kidney failure, liver failure and meningitis in humans . due to a successful dog vaccination campaign, it was thought to have been eradicated in the 1980’s, but unfortunately the old vaccine technology caused a lot of allergic reactions. when i graduated from atlantic veterinary college in 1992 and moved to ontario, most people declined to have their pets vaccinated against leptospirosis.

for more about infectious disease and pets, check out dr. scott weese’s excellent worms and germs blog .  veterinary partner is also an excellent source of veterinary medical information.

dr. robert pepper jones is a veterinarian in toronto. he and his irish wolfhound fergus are a st.john ambulance therapy dog team and in his spare time loves to cook and play tenor saxophone with the east york concert band and the sound ideas big band.

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