Pet-Associated Illness

AN estimated 55 million dogs and nearly as many cats are kept as pets in the United States.¹ Although over 30 human illnesses can be acquired from pets,² owners are often poorly informed about measures that prevent acquisition of these conditions.³ Despite the frequency of contact between pet and owner, most pet-associated illnesses are infrequent, and health care providers may not be aware of their patterns of transmission or of preventive measures. The topic of pathogens that are transmitted from animals to human beings (zoonoses) has received brief editorial attention recently.^4,5 In this article, we review in more detail the.