Zoonoses and pets in domestic environments: risk communication

In occidental societies, the presence of pets in households increases year after year as a result of their beneficial effects on emotional, physical and psychological aspects. Along with these benefits, the existence of different diseases that can be transmitted from the animals to the rest of the members of the household must be taken into consideration, especially for those co-habitants who belong to the population at risk. This apparent challenge between the risks and benefits of pet ownership ought to be settled by taking into account the health status of the different members of the household in order to select the most convenient animal species as well as to determine the specific hygienic and management measures to apply. In general, the knowledge and concern of pet owners regarding the zoonoses associated to their pets are scarce, even when members of their household are considered as population at risk. In addition, the limitations affecting the communication procedures from the different health professionals may cause risk situations to pass by unnoticed. For this reason, it is necessary to establish interprofessional and intraprofessional protocols which ensure an adequate communication flow with pet owners depending on the particular health situation of their households.