Zoonoses--Can Your Pet Make You Sick?

Course overview

For many people, animals are an important part of their lives, providing valuable social bonds, emotional support, and joy. Pets and other animals can contribute to a healing environment with their companionship, assistance, sensory stimulation, need for exercise, sense of calmness, and level of acceptance that is often difficult to find from any other source. Yet many diseases can be spread from pets to people. These diseases, called zoonoses, can involve bacterial, viral, or parasitic infections. People can also infect pets, as well. Maintaining a healing environment for all includes the prevention of infections from our pets and other animals. The outcome of this course is for the learner to describe some of the most common zoonoses in the United States and to describe symptoms, treatment, and methods of prevention and treatment for these diseases.