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 CDC's Healthy Pets, Healthy People Teaching Kit Lesson 1 Introduction
Audience Health professionals and other community workers who serve immunocompromised patients or clients.
Time Approximately 25 minutes
Objectives By the end of lesson one, the participants will be able to:
Overview The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the health risks and benefits of pet ownership to people. In particular, it includes information on who is at greatest risk of acquiring diseases from animals, an overview of diseases of primary concern, and general definitions.
Materials Plastic cups Box of crayons Slide set (Microsoft® PowerPoint® slide show 1MB) Large sheets of drawing paper (e.g. from a flipchart) Flipchart Marker (wide) Introduction (10 minutes) When the participants enter the room, they should already have cups of crayons and large drawing paper sitting on the tables. As they enter, ask half of them to draw a "stick" pet that is considered a health risk to persons with compromised immune systems (e.g., people with AIDS/HIV) and the other half to draw a "stick" pet that is considered safe for persons with compromised immune systems. This should only take a few minutes. Collect the drawings. Have the participants introduce themselves and welcome them to the course.
Suggested Script "My dog is my life. He is my reason for living. While I am tired of depending on everyone else, he depends on me. And every time I come home, every single time, I get a standing ovation". This quote was by a man living with AIDS. Over the next five weeks, we will be discussing six diseases that can be transmitted from pets to people with compromised immune systems. We will talk about how these diseases are transmitted, will learn the clinical signs in animals and humans, and will discuss ways to prevent diseases transmission from pets to immunocompromised persons. While the focus of these lessons are on disease risks, it is crucial to remember the value of companionship that pets can provide, especially for persons with long-term illness, including AIDS/HIV and cancer. Go around the room and have the participants share their name, occupation and their newly-drawn animal.
Body (10 Minutes) Suggested Script In the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980's, little was known about health risks of pets to persons with compromised immune systems. Many physicians were aware, however, that pets could carry infections, including salmonellosis and toxoplasmosis. As a result, physicians often recommended that persons with AIDS/HIV give up their pets. For many of these people, pets were an important part of their social support system. In 1996, the United States Public Health Service and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created recommendations for people with AIDS/HIV. These recommendations included a section on pet ownership. In additions to providing hygiene-specific recommendations, they stated that most household pets are not a significant health risk, and persons with AIDS/HIV should not be advised to give up most pets. Since 1996, CDC has developed specific pet and other animal-related recommendations for pregnant women, children, and organ transplant patients. Although these recommendations have been developed, there are still many health professionals who report feeling uncomfortable about discussing pet-related diseases with patients. As a result, physicians often erroneously advise patients to give up pet that are considered safe and do not inform their patients and clients about pets that are considered risky. At the end of this five-week course, you will have a better understanding about pet-related diseases and will be able to confidently provide recommendations about pet ownership to your patients and clients who are immunocompromised. Write the following terms on a flip chart: ZOONOSES, OPPORTUNISTIC INFECTIONS, IMMUNOCOMPROMISED. Ask volunteers to define these three words. Provide positive feedback on the responses. Follow up the questions with following formal definition:
Ask volunteers to provide examples of people who may be at greater risk of getting pet-related zoonotic infections. Follow up the questions with the following list of diseases/conditions:
Conclusion (5 minutes) Suggested Script Today, we reviewed the terms zoonoses, immunocompromised, and opportunistic infection. Additionally, you learned a list of diseases and conditions that may put a person at greater risk of acquiring a pet-related zoonosis. In the next lesson, we will take a closer look, at six zoonoses of greatest concern to your patients and clients. The remaining lessons will focus on what pets are safe or risky, will review valuable resources you can use in your clinic or community center, and will use this information to solve real case studies.
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