8 Pets That Pose Major Health Threats to Kids

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chickens, chicks were mentioned- but nothing about other birds and bird flu h5n1 or h7n1

CARMEN NAZARIO VEGA of MA 12:40PM October 13, 2008

In my life, I remember 9 dogs, 23 cats, 3 squirrels, 8 hamsters, 4 mice, 2 rats, 1 racoon, 2 emus, 12 snakes, scores of assorted lizards, untold numbers of spiders, 8 songbirds, 2 parrots, hundreds of fish (salt & fresh), painted turtles, box turtles, snapping turtles, alligator turtles, 2 ferrets, and 1 bobcat. I've fed them, nurtured them, bathed with them, slept with them, handled them, been bitten by most and still no major event. I"m 55 and have never contracted anything more than a few flea bites. Factor in that data. Common sense always prevails.

Robin Pierce of FL 10:04PM October 12, 2008

Wash your hands, wash your pets, keep bedding clean, treat for known microbes and test for suspected microbes. Then kiss em, sleep with em & share your snacks with em & forgetaboutit!! Humans should be at the top of the extinction list?? What a freakin nutcase!! Go ahead, "Barack the vote"... hahahahahaha!!

Robin Pierce of FL 9:35PM October 12, 2008

Yes all those facts are true thats life! Do you know how many diseases HUMANS can spread to you? heck we all know, most of us have faced with chickenpox, flu, even just the common cold. I'd feel alot safer with a dog or cat than another human with those odds, but either way there's no point in freaking out.

of 9:04PM October 12, 2008

I love that there was no need to qualify the generalized statements made or any attempt at writing an article based on real facts. Shame on the author of this who should provide all the facts and sides of the story instead of such sensationalism!

Manda of KS 3:26PM October 08, 2008

Agreed, many reasonse that people, esp. kids, get more sick more often is because we are suffocating our children with anit-fungal, anti-microbial, anit-bacterial, anti-everything washes, scrubs, soaps, shampoos...do I need to go on?
Some of the pets listed here are traditional pets that have been around for decades. I imagine that if the diseases and problems listed bove really were serious issues, they would have come to light long ago, and pet stores would be out of business. Neither has happened.
Above there are listed warnings of owning even a dog or cat. Did you know that toxoplasmosis can be contracted by handling raw meat, especially during pregnancy? Oh crap right! Anyone for trying a vegan lifestyle? The chances of contracting this disease from a cat are less than contracting it from raw meat.
Plenty of healthy men and woman have cooked dinner and given birth to healthy babies. Plenty of children have been born into families with a variety of pets and lived long enough to own their own pets and have children and raise families.
What 3 year old child has a hedgehog for a pet? Do you know of any 1 year old children who ask for a lizard for Christmas? I belive this article is praying on the sam fears that the Clorox and Lysol companies are preying on. Shame on all of them!

Ashley of AZ 2:18PM October 08, 2008

Our six fuzzies have been a joy to my six year old son. He'll gather a group of them, and carry them together in his arms, and they really have smiles on their faces. He get's ferret kisses on the cheeks from them (and I do too). They are incredibly smart, wonderful pets, that when treated right are such a joy to have around. Maybe you are hearing stories of mistreated ferrets? A miss-treated anything will not make a good pet. So please be careful when damning a whole species as being horrible, they are not!

Shannon Wilson of IN 12:20PM October 08, 2008

You people at US News are absolutely nuts! With all the germaphobes in the world today, I'm glad I'm an adult and not a child growing up in these conditions!!
PS - I have 2 cats, 2 dogs and 4 ferrets.

Kesrael Vacchon of PA 9:11AM October 08, 2008

You have got to be kidding me??? A ferret has been know to severely mutilate children's ears and noses while lying down?? This author couldn't find anything bad to say about ferrets so she made this trash up! Where has this ever happened? There has NEVER been a case of a domestic ferret severely mutilating any body part of any person or child.
Ferrets are not vicious wild animals. If let outside or if they escape your home they can live for no more than a few days. They do not know how to fend for themselves, they are totally dependent on humans to care for them. Does this sound like some wild crazy baby eating animal? They are sweet, loving, and intelligent animals. However, they do require lots of attention and out of cage time. They also require a lot of vet care and are not cheap animals to own.
Ferrets are the 3rd most popular companion animal behind the cat and dog. We live in a throw away society where everything is expendable and nothing has value. Rubbish like this only makes things worse for animals like ferrets. The author needs to get her facts straight before printing trash like this.
For more information and facts about ferrets visit:
www.ferret.org
Lisa Vible
American Ferret Association Education Director
Oxford Ferret Rescue Volunteer

Lisa of MD 11:46PM October 07, 2008

I started to think this was a serious article when I read "Salmonella." I don't know much about lizards and believed it was possible that I could be creating a hazard when I brought my child a pet gecko. For a minute there I was concerned. But when I got to the warning about cats and dogs, I realized that Nancy Shute is not writing for safety concerns but for a political agenda. She obviously is against the keeping of any pet and probably wants all zoos closed too. I wouldn't be surprised to learn she's a active PETA staff member.
Animals are good for children and for the most part people are good for animals. This article, meant to scare people from keeping pets, is a great disservice. If it was credible, it would have listed case numbers of people being infected which I'm sure is very very low. I've had four cats and while we've all been scratched numerous times, no one has ever been sick. That's 40 years and 10 people worth of experience.
Scaring people from keeping pets, by using scary disease names and implied threats to their children's heath, is a dirty and shameful trick. It's not science, it's not fact, and it's not news. This is not a safety article, it a politcal statement against keeping pets: You are not fooling me.
We love our pets, they enjoy our company, and we will all live longer and happier now that we're together.

Stefan of GA 4:27PM October 07, 2008