They are mankind’s loyal companions. But according to a new study, dogs could be a serious risk to our lives.
Last week, vets warned that many people are overlooking the potentially deadly diseases we could catch from our pets. They carry and spread salmonella, and can infect us with parasites, fungal infections, tapeworm, roundworm and superbugs.
Furious pet owners say the benefits of a dog far outweigh any health risks. So are the vets right? DAVID DERBYSHIRE presents the (rather alarming) evidence.
Food poisoning risk: Dogs don’t just use their tongues to clean themselves, they happily shove their faces into anything smelly- including dead birds, animal carcasses and fox droppings
TUBERCULOSIS
If dogs come into contact with an infected cow, get into a fight with a diseased badger or eat meat infected with the bacteria, they can develop tuberculosis — and pass the potentially deadly lung disease on to you.
The risks are tiny, but real. In 2013, a child caught TB from a family dog in Gloucestershire. The child, who was under ten, made a full recovery, but the dog was put down.
ROUNDWORMS
Two-thirds of public playgrounds are thought to be contaminated with roundworm eggs — stomach-churning parasites that grow up to 14 in long in canine guts.
The eggs are shed in dog mess and survive for months on the ground. If you garden without gloves or eat food you’ve dropped on the floor, the eggs can end up inside you.
The three-second rule — the commonly held belief that if you pick up dropped food immediately it’s safe to eat — doesn’t work here.
Once inside the human body, the larvae cannot grow into adult worms, but migrate to the lungs, liver, eyes and brain, potentially causing serious internal damage and even blindness.
‘Roundworm look like cooked spaghetti and are probably the most common intestinal parasite in dogs,’ says Vicki Larkham, a vet with the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals.
‘You know if you dog has them because they will be vomiting or you will see the worms.’
TAPEWORMS
Tapeworms are revolting. Some varieties grow 30 ft long inside your intestines and live for 20 years.
While most are harmless, one potentially deadly species called echinococcus is putting people at risk in hotspots in Wales, the Welsh borders and the Western Isles.
After dogs eat echinococcus eggs in infected animal carcasses, the worms grow to adulthood in their guts and shed eggs in dog faeces. Dogs spread the eggs to people by licking their faces after cleaning themselves.
In people the tapeworm causes cysts on the liver, lungs or brain, which can grow 12 in across and cause organ failure and even death.
It can take years after infection for symptoms to show.
Caroline Reay, veterinary surgeon at the animal charity Blue Cross, said: ‘You can prevent tapeworm by the regular use of wormers. If you have a dog in an echinococcus hotspot you want to worm it every six weeks.’
SERIOUS FOOD POISONING
Dogs don’t just use their tongues to clean themselves, they happily shove their faces into anything smelly — including dead birds, animal carcasses and fox droppings.
As a result their mouths and guts can be a breeding ground for salmonella and campylobacter — the food poisoning bacteria that can be dangerous for young children and the elderly.
Vicki Larkham says: ‘Unfortunately, dogs like sticking their noses into things, so getting licked on the face and mouth is not a great idea.’
BUGS ATTACKING YOUR INTESTINES
There’s nothing some dogs like more than splashing around in canals and rivers.
But while they’re enjoying a swim, they could also be picking up the waterborne parasite crypto-sporidium, which can cause the disease cryptosporidiosis.
Outside the body, the parasite takes the form of a microscopic capsule or cyst, just five-thousandths of a millimetre long, protected by a tough outer shell. The cysts are immune to chlorine or disinfectants and can survive in water for months.
Once swallowed, the parasites burrow into the intestines, causing diarrhoea, cramps and fever.
If a dog is infected, billions of cysts pass through its system each day. These cysts can get on to fur, tongues or bedding. A human needs to swallow just ten cysts to be infected. Though the chances of a dog passing the disease to you are slim, it’s something to think about the next time a dog licks your face.
RAT INFECTION
Weil's disease is often spread by rat waste in canals and rivers. If your dog drinks from an infected water source then it can pick up the disease.
Once a pet dog is infected, its urine — and anywhere it urinates — becomes infectious, putting owners at risk. In nine out of ten human cases, it causes mild flu-like symptoms such as headache, aches and chills.
But in 10 per cent it can be life- threatening — and lead to internal bleeding and organ failure.
‘It is completely preventable with vaccination,’ says Vicki Larkham.
‘If your dog has it, you will know about it because they will be pretty poorly. We suggest that dogs with it are hospitalised.
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Source: daily mail uk
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