Feline zoonoses guidelines from the American Association of Feline Practitioners

Z oonotic diseases are defined as being common to, shared by, or naturally transmitted between humans and other vertebrate animals (Evans 1997). Transmission of zoonotic agents from animals to people can potentially occur by direct contact with the animal, indirect contact with secretions or excretions from the animal, and contact with vehicles like water, food or fomites that were contaminated by the animal. For many agents, infection of the animal and human occurs from a shared vector or environmental exposure. Most zoonotic agents can infect anyone regardless of their immune status. However, when immunosuppressed people are infected the clinical illness is often more severe. For example, primary Toxoplasma gondii infection of an immunocompetent person is usually inapparent whereas infection in an immunosuppressed person can cause life-threatening disease. Examples of immunosuppressed individuals include those with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), those on immune suppressive drugs for immune-mediated disease, cancer, or organ transplantation, the fetus or other young people without fully developed immune systems, and older individuals with decremental deterioration of the immune system. When immunodeficiency is detected or suspected in a family, it is often recommended that cat ownership be discontinued due to potential health risks (Burton 1989, Spencer 1992). Because there are many infectious agents that infect both cats and humans, it is sometimes assumed that zoonotic diseases are commonly acquired from cat contact. In actuality, humans are unlikely to acquire infectious diseases from healthy, adult,