NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Snuggling with your pet cat or dog, may just be what the doctor ordered when you are home with cold and flu symptoms.
Pets won’t catch or spread human viruses and can provide comfort during illness according to Vanderbilt infectious disease doctors.
“The pet is a comfort, not a hazard,” said William Schaffner, M.D., professor of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt. Even somebody who pets the dog or cat after you is unlikely to catch your virus that way, and “you can’t get a cold or the flu from your dog or cat,” Schaffner said.
Schaffner said the true hazard in catching a virus comes from other humans.
“Flu is transmitted person-to-person through close personal contact. If you get within my breathing zone, within three feet, I can transfer that influenza virus to you. I breathe it out, you breathe it in, and you can be infected,” Schaffner said.
Colds and flu can also be transmitted by hand or contaminated surfaces.
“People should wash their hands often and use hand sanitizer,” Schaffner said. “Also, when flu is rampant in the community, greet friends with an elbow bump rather than a handshake.”
The best way to avoid getting sick is to be immunized—with pets it’s their annual vaccinations, and with people, it’s a flu shot.