Oh, oh, oh...I wasn't going to respond again, but they put ferretsthere too!! And I love how they put "pets who can carrysalmonella" and don't include water turtles who are the biggest carrierof all. (Again, you can own these, as long as you use commonsense and wash your hands.)Got to love a responsible journalist that puts rabbits in arodent category!
This is what I was trying to say, I just ranted a bit and Pam found a much better way to say it.Ithink we have to be realistic in the fact that rodents have beenresponsible for many deaths and illnessdue to the diseasesthey transmit including the plague and more recent illnesses includinghantavirus in the US.
While incidents are rare, children, the agedand those withlowered immune system response are advised to be cautious.People on immune suppressants are recommended *not* to handle animalsat all.
So yes, while the risk is small, I don't think we should imply thatthere is no risk in handling animals. Those with healthyimmune systems who follow good hygiene procedures are at very littlerisk.
Since many animals lick their butts -- it's probably not a good idea to kiss them on the mouth anyhow
Pam
Any animal that poops can carry salmonella. Therefore,rabbits could carry it, however I think you would be hard pressed tofind a case in which it was proved to have come from arabbit. Humans can give some animals flus and colds (I knowthese can be transferred to ferrets and I think to an extentrats). I also know that when I had strep throat, I postedhere because I was worried that my buns could catch it, but Pam postedseveral things about why I couldn't pass it to them. I'll tryto find the link for you.Do rabbits actually carry samonella? I am just curious. Arethere any diseases that humans can transfer to animals? Icky zoonoticdiseases! I agree that people should always use common sense whenhandling any animal.
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