For Health Professionals

Health professionals, including physicians, veterinarians, nurses, community health workers, and veterinary technicians, are highly valued sources of health information, including information on zoonoses, for the general public. This section is intended to help you, as a health professional, provide information to your patients and clients on prevention of diseases related to animal contact.

• Resources: Additional CDC- related resources
• Health Benefits of Pets

Publications and Presentations

Medscape video commentary: Pets Can Make People Sick (August 23, 2011)

Questions about Avian Influenza? Find out more now.

Recovery of a Patient from Rabies -A 2004 MMWR article about a girl who recovered from a rabies infection

Compendium of Veterinary Standard Precautions: Zoonotic Disease Prevention in Veterinary Personnel and Model Infection Control Plan for Veterinary Practices. PDF 2.1MB

Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control, 2004. National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, Inc. (NASPHV). - Includes rabies vaccination schedule for pets.

Compendium of Measures to Prevent Disease Associated with Animals in Public Settings, 2011 MMWR. May 6, 2011;60(RR04);1-24

• Appendix C Hand-Washing Recommendations to Reduce Disease Transmission from Animals in Public Settings

Importation of Pets, Other Animals or Animal Products into the United States

Kassenborg HD, Hedberg CW, Hoekstra M, Evans MC, Chin AE, Marcus R, Vugia DJ, Smith K, Ahuja SD, Slutsker L, and Griffin PM. PDF 170KB Farm Visits and Undercooked Hamburgers as Major Risk Factors for Sporadic Escherichia coli O157:H7 Infection: Data from a Case-Control Study in 5 FoodNet Sites Clinical Infectious Diseases Supplement 2004:38 pg 271-278. PDF 170KB

Prevention of Zoonotic Transmission of Ascarids and Hookworms of Dogs and Cats: Guidelines for Veterinarians
CDC, NCID, Division of Parasitic Diseases.

Roy SL, Delong SM, Stenzel SA, Shiferaw B, Roberts JM, Khalakdina A, Marcus R, Segler SD, Shah DD, Thomas S, Vugia DJ, Zansky SM, Dietz V, Beach MJ, and the Emerging Infections Program FoodNet Working Group. Risk Factors for Sporadic Cryptosporidiosis among Immunocompetent Persons in the United States from 1999 to 2001 PDF 464KB Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2004, p. 2944-2951, Vol. 42, No. 7. PDF 464KB

Skerget M, Wenisch C, Daxboeck F, Krause R, Haberl R and Stuenzner D. Cat or Dog Ownership and Seroprevalence of Ehrlichiosis, Q Fever, and Cat Scratch Disease. Emerg Infect Dis 2003 Oct.

Srikantia P, Lay JC, Hand S, Crump JA, Campbell J, Van Duyne MS, Bishop R, Middendor R, Currier M, Mead PS, and Molbak K. 2004. Salmonella enterica Serotype Javiana inections associated with amphibian contact, Mississippi, 2001. Epidemiol. Infect. 132 pg 273-281. PDF 153KB