Uh-oh. Although we’re pretty sure Teddy doesn’t have any infectious diseases, this makes us a little nervous.
It’s not uncommon that household pets are allowed to sleep in their owners beds, but a study to be published in next month’s issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Emerging Infectious Diseases says that sleeping with your pets increases the chances of contracting anything from parasites to the plague.
The authors, Dr. Bruno Chomel and Ben Sun, are both experts in zoonoses, which are diseases or infections transmitted from animals to humans, so these guys know what they are talking about. They reported:
“The risk for transmission of zoonotic agents by close contact between pets and their owners through bed sharing, kissing or licking is real and has even been documented for life-threatening infections such as plague [and] internal parasites.”
Dr. Bruno Chomel, says:
“We wanted to raise the attention of people, as sleeping with a pet is becoming quite common, and there are risks associated with it, even if it is not very frequent, but when it occurs, especially in children or immunocompromised people, it can be very severe.”
Ahh! This is scary!
Canine lovers are slightly luckier statistically since the study shows that disease from cats is far more prevalent, and often more serious.
Cat scratch disease, for example, is known to infect 20,000 people each year and is caused by a simple scratch or bite from a cat who has infected fleas or flea feces (gross) on them.
The pathogen can cause swelling of the lymph nodes and sometime lethal damage to the liver, kidney and spleen of humans.
Better get your pets checked out regularly if you’re letting them sleeping in the same covers as you.
Thankfully, Teddy goes to the vet on the regular for checkups! Our baby sleeps in our bed every night!
[Image via AP Images.]