Where "cute" meets "disease carrier"
In pet owners' backyards lurk serious wildlife diseases that can affect pets and people. Have you considered ... ?
Ever wondered what's out there in the suburban or semirural backyard? Here's a list of wildlife hosts and their diseases that may be infectious to domestic animals or humans.
Shutterstock.comWhite-tailed deer
Meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis)
Bovine tuberculosis (in parts of Michigan and Indiana)
Liver flukes (Fascioloides magna)
Shutterstock.comBlack bear
Baylisascaris transfuga
Raccoon
Rabies
Canine distemper virus
Parvovirus
Baylisascaris procyonis
Leptospira interrogans
Shutterstock.comStriped skunk
Rabies
Canine distemper virus
Leptospira interrogans
Baylisascaris columnaris
Shutterstock.comFoxes
Canine distemper virus (primarily gray foxes)
Rabies
Echinococcus multilocularis
Dirofilaria immitis
Sarcoptes scabiei (red foxes)
Shutterstock.comCoyote
Canine distemper virus
Parvovirus
Echinococcus multilocularis
Dirofilaria immitis
Rabies
Sarcoptes scabiei
Neospora caninum
Shutterstock.comOpossum
Leptospira interrogans
Sarcocystis neurona
Shutterstock.comCottontail rabbit
Tularemia
Shutterstock.comDiseases associated with unsanitary bird feeders/waterers
Salmonella species
Aspergillus species
