What to know about disease transmission between pets and people

Just like humans, animals can develop and spread illnesses. People who welcome pets into their homes may be concerned about transmission from pets to people as well as other animals to pets. To alleviate some fears, here's some information about disease transmission among pets, people and other animals.

Heartworm

Heartworm cannot spread from pets to people, and humans rarely get heartworm. Heartworm cannot be caught from another pet like a cold or flu. It only spreads through mosquito bites. Two pets in the same household would each have to be bitten by infected mosquitoes to contract heartwor...