Shawn Messonnier, DVM--

Yesterday it was reported that a cat tested positive for the swine flu virus (H1N1,) likely contracting it from one of its infected, sick owners. Should you be worried about this?

My first thought when I heard about this was, “That’s nice, so what?!”
As a doctor and a scientist, it’s always interesting when it is discovered that a virus can jump species and infect a different species of animal. Practically though, this really doesn’t mean much at this time.

If large numbers of household pets become infected with and transmit the H1N1 virus to people, that’s a different story. But at this point, a single case of a cat infected with the swine flu really doesn’t mean much.

As a rule, pets and their owners don’t share or transmit many diseases. That’s good because we live in very close proximity with our pets. For those diseases where we know that transmission is possible and even likely (such as various intestinal parasites and skin diseases,) proper precautions must be taken to minimize transmission between owners and their pets.

At this point, the story makes for interesting reading but shouldn’t cause any panic. We already have enough panic about the swine flu. Many so-called “experts” recommend everyone get vaccinated for the swine flu (even though few people are likely to become infected,) and there is not enough vaccine to vaccinate even a small fraction of the population.

Recently a new vaccine became available to vaccinate our canine family members against the dog flu. One of my local colleagues bragged on a recent TV news story that he’s already vaccinated hundreds of dogs! My guess is that most of not all those dogs did not need vaccination, as they are unlikely to ever come in contact with the dog flu virus. While he made a lot of money scaring his clients into believing that their pets were in grave danger of contracting and dying from the dog flu, it’s unlikely any of his patients even benefited from their unnecessary immunization.

Here’s my rule to determine if people or pets should be vaccinated against a certain disease. I always look at the risk of that person or pet actually coming in contact with the disease. Then I examine what would happen if the person or pet did contract an infection-would it cause a mild illness or would it cause large numbers of fatalities? Finally, I accept that the majority of people and pets have healthy immune systems that can actually fight off most disease causing microorganisms. With this information in mind, it is usually unnecessary for people and pets to routinely be vaccinated on a regular basis for most infectious diseases.

Dr. Shawn Messonnier, DVM the host of the weekly award-winning radio show, "Dr. Shawn-The Natural Vet" on Martha Stewart Radio (Sirius 112 Tues 8-10 PM EST and Sat 9-11AM EST) sits on the advisory board of the Journal Veterinary Forum, and is a holistic pet columnist for Animal Wellness, Body + Soul, and Veterinary Forum. In addition to serving clients in his Paws & Claws Animal Hospital, he has written several books on the natural care of pets, including The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats, The Allergy Solution for Dogs, 8 Weeks to a Healthy Dog, Preventing and Treating Cancer In Dogs and most recently Unexpected Miracles (Forge Books/ Aug 2009). He is also the creator of a new line of organic pet products, Dr. Shawn's Pet Organics (www.Dr.Shawnspetorganics.com)  You'll find him online at www.petcarenaturally.com

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