CNN: What types of diseases can household pets like cats and dogs transmit to humans?
Dr. Leana Wen: Just as humans can transmit diseases to other humans, animals can transmit diseases to others in their own species.
Sometimes, animals can transmit diseases to other species, and that includes humans with whom pets have had close contact.
These diseases spread when a person is bitten by an infected tick that has fed off an infected animal.
It’s not known how the man who died from Alaskapox contracted it, but a possible route is an infected animal biting the individual or exposure of an infected animal to an existing break in the man’s skin.
Persons:
Leana Wen, Wen, Lyme, Alaskapox, It’s
Organizations:
CNN — Health, CNN, George Washington University
Locations:
Alaska, Oregon, United States