Ever surprise if you will get ticks from pets? A examine by Jones et al. discovered that not solely can pets transport ticks into the house and onto people, however the danger of a tick chunk is considerably increased for each canine and cat homeowners.
Are you able to get ticks from pets? Sure, and in response to a examine by Jones et al. proudly owning indoor-outdoor pets will increase your danger of being bitten by a tick and doubtlessly exposing your self to varied tick-borne ailments. [1]
Out of the 1,546 properties with pets, 88.1% used some type of tick management on their pets. But, 20% nonetheless discovered ticks on their pets, 31.4% reported ticks crawling on family members, and 19.2% discovered ticks hooked up to family members through the examine interval, writes Jones from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Proudly owning pet will increase danger of tick chunk
General, pet-owning households reportedly had a 1.83 instances higher danger of discovering ticks crawling on family members and a 1.49 instances higher danger of getting ticks hooked up to a member.
For households which discovered ticks on their pets, the chance of a human tick encounter was elevated considerably, with a 2.69 instances higher danger of a tick crawling on a family member and a 2.5 higher danger of a tick attachment.
READ MORE: Cats carry all types of ticks and tick-borne diseases
“We had been stunned,” says Jones, “to search out that the reported use of tick management on pets didn’t have a protecting impact on tick encounters.”
As well as, sure property options elevated the chance of human tick encounters. Houses with a vegetable backyard, compost pile, log pile, chicken feeder, stone partitions and kids’s play tools had been at a higher danger of “discovering ticks each crawling and hooked up to family members,” the authors write.
The authors recommend a number of the explanation why the chance of tick publicity is larger for pet homeowners:
- Pets could carry ticks onto the property and even into the house the place people can encounter them.
- Pet homeowners could have interaction in actions with their pets that take each themselves and their pets into tick habitat, rising the chance of tick encounters for each the pet and the people.
- Pet possession is rising in the USA, and lots of pet homeowners permit their pets to share their residing house, together with beds and furnishings.
“We consider the higher danger of encountering ticks in pet-owning households displays a real improve in danger of tick-borne illness in these households,” writes Jones.
Pet homeowners ought to be made conscious of those dangers and reminded to conduct tick checks frequently on pets and family members and to seek the advice of their veterinarian relating to efficient tick management merchandise, Jones advised Reuters Health.
References:
- Jones EH, Hinckley AF, Hook SA, et al. Pet possession will increase human danger of encountering ticks. Zoonoses Public Well being. 2017.
