BROOKINGS – As a South Dakota State University Extension veterinarian Russ Daly has a key role in working with big-animal issues, such as those affecting cattle and hogs. Additionally he wears the hat of state public health veterinarian. In that latter role he dealt with “A peculiar case: Two families, two families, two bearded dragons and one strain of salmonella.” A report on the case was submitted by SDSU Marketing & Communications to The Brookings Register and appeared on page 7 (Health) in its Nov. 21 edition.

Diagnosing the disease was a team effort involving: Daly; Joy Scaria, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, SDSU Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory; and a group of SDSU students. It was the first time Daly had been closely involved with bearded dragons.

On Nov. 21, in the aftermath of that report, the Register met with Daly at the ADRDL to talk in layman’s terms about some of the health issues that go with being a pet owner. The doctor began by noting the good things that come with owning pets.

“The benefits to having connections with animals far outweigh the problems when it comes to people; it really does,” Daly said. “When you think about all the things we get from animals: livestock, food and fiber, things we need to keep alive ourselves.” Add to that small animals that “bring companionship and emotional support and all that goes along with that. So the benefits really outweigh any of the dangers.”

Be careful with reptiles and backyard poultry

“That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some problems that pop up once in awhile,” Daly noted. He added, “My thinking is germs and zoonotic diseases, which are diseases that can be passed from animals to people.”

And animals can bring us physical trauma: “Like bite us or kick us or try to trample us,” Daly added, with a hint of humor. But as a public health veterinarian, he’s more to keeping in mind the pathogens and germs.

The doctor singled out a couple of animal species with the potential for transmitting diseases to people: “In broad terms reptiles, whether they’re lizards or snakes or other species of reptiles. They harbor salminella in their guts as their normal thing. It doesn’t make them sick; but those germs can make us sick. Those are species that we have to be careful around.”

The other, “whether they’re pets or not are becoming more popular: backyard poultry. Chickens have the same kind of issues,” relative to salminella problems. “Every year we put out the reminder in springtime, around Easter time, when people buy their chicks from the store. That’s fine. We want to raise chickens; but wash your hands after you handle them.”

And don’t rule out canines and felines. “Our run-of-the-mill dogs and cats once in awhile can have some things that give us some troubles: younger puppies and kittens if they have infections such as Campylobacter, and you handle them when when they’re sick with diarrhea, for example,” Daly explained. “That can be something they can transmit to us. Young puppies and kittens get ringworm and they can give that to us, too.

“Fortunately that’s not very common. The run-of-the-mill having a dog or cat really doesn’t involve too much illness for 99 percent of the situation, either on the animal- side where the animals are healthy and older and the people-side when we have normal immune systems. When you have problems with younger people, kids, their immune systems aren’t as developed as adults’ are.

“On the other side of the spectrum, there can be some problems with people who are immuno-compromised from taking cancer treatments or organ donations and you have to have that immuno-suppressive therapy. They’re more prone to have problems from germs that normally wouldn’t cause problems.”

Salmanella especially from “the droppings, fecal contamination, the manure from the animals. And to some extent the saliva, because it’s all connected, the digestive tract.”

Snuggle, carry, don’t kiss

Daly noted that contamination is not always direct and doesn’t always come from the “droppings, the yucky stuff. But in animal environments (contaminants) get on their fur or scales or their feathers or the outside of the animal.”

A small reptilian pet such as a bearded dragon is likely to be housed in a cage or an aquarium. Even after a cleanup, that environment can still be contaminated.

“And if you let the animal out to walk around the house, as some people do, it can have that spread (of contaminants) throughout the house,” the doctor added. “We know about the visible stuff and that’s not good; but there’s the invisible stuff.

“It’s OK to interact with pets, that’s why you have them. Just make sure you wash your hands and avoid any inadvertent hand-to-mouth contact.”

Daly did explain that “pocket pets,” small critters such as hamsters, guinea pigs and domesticated rabbits are generally safer than reptilian pets and birds – but hand washing and personal hygiene are still needed when they are handled.

“Think about the environment those pets are in and your own interaction with them,” he noted. Laughing, he added, “Snuggle them and carry them and wash your hands and your arms afterwards – but don’t kiss them.” The latter response was noted in reference to some of the TV adds that show people getting up close and affectionate with their cats and dogs.

Finally, what about wild animals as pets? In the simplest of terms, animals such as squirrels, raccoons, and non-domesticated rabbits are born wild, grow up wild and stay wild. They can be sources of disease. Leave them alone.

“Pets are good; we need that interaction,” Daly said in his closing remarks. “They’re such a big part of our lives. And these salmonella cases were pretty unusual, pretty rare. There are a lot more bearded dragons out there and a lot more people that presumably are getting sick.”

Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.