human contagious illnesses and pets

[missllama]

Hey everyone

A few months ago i was sick i had the tummy bug and i wouldnt feed my gliders or dog or reps i made my partner do all that because i wasnt sure if i could make my pets sick

can dogs cats reptiles etc get ill from our bugs?

if you have the flu or a cold etc do u handle your animals still or do u try to keep ur distance until u think u are over the contagious period?

my dog is a real sooky la la as most of u already know, and i wont let him come near me on the odd occasion i am unwel, and i wont chop up and prepare any of our animals food either.

i would like to know tho if it is actually a problem, could we harm our animals having contact with them when were unwel? or is it ok to still have them around us and prepare there food?

thanks hope to hear some responses

 

[karasha]

previously i would have said there are no worries, there is only a few zoonotic diseases and most of them are not from us. in the reverse though there are a few thing that pets carry that we can get for example reptiles carry salmonella spp and dog carry hookworms/tapeworms, cats can give us ringworm.
so basically if you personal hygeine is good then i would worry. wash hands before and after handling all animals and thier food. but then again we are being threatened with swine/bird flu and that is a hybrid from us and them (from wot i can understand anyway)

 

[missllama]

thanks for that, i just wasnt sure if i get gastro or a common cold etc if its safe to be handling my pets food etc, i barley ever get sick i have ocd so i am scared of germs myself lol i couldnt wash my hands more if i wanted too... so i dont have to worry about that lol!