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Infectious Hazards from Pets and Domestic Animals

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Hot Topics in Infection and Immunity in Children VII

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 697))

Abstract

Most pet owners consider their pets to be family members. Approximately 63% of US households own at least one pet [1], and statistical analysis done in the United States in 2006 showed that there are more than 72 million pet dogs and nearly 82 million pet cats, with an average veterinary expenditure per household for all pets of around $366/year [2]. According to a survey conducted by the American Animal Hospital Association (2002), 94% of pet owners consider their pet to have human personality traits, 93% say that they would risk their own life for their pet, and half said that they would choose their dog as their sole companion if stranded on a Desert Island [4]. As a consequence, people tend to treat the health of their pets as they would with their own children and spend more money at the veterinary clinic. This also involves purchasing treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Infectious and Immunological Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada

    Mona Al-Dabbagh & Simon Dobson

Authors
  1. Mona Al-Dabbagh
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  2. Simon Dobson
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Correspondence to Simon Dobson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Children's Hospital, Dept. Pediatrics, University of Melbourne, Flemington Road, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia

    Nigel Curtis

  2. Institute of Child Life and Health, UBHT Education Centre, University of Bristol, Upper Maudlin Street, Bristol, BS2 8AE, United Kingdom

    Adam Finn

  3. University of Oxford, Level 4,John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, OX3 9DU, United Kingdom

    Andrew J. Pollard

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Al-Dabbagh, M., Dobson, S. (2011). Infectious Hazards from Pets and Domestic Animals. In: Curtis, N., Finn, A., Pollard, A. (eds) Hot Topics in Infection and Immunity in Children VII. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 697. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7185-2_18

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