Although it isn’t common, some diseases your pet catches can be passed on to you. Most of these are bacterial and some have vaccinations.

1. The flu– Your pet can give you the flu if they catch the virus. Fortunately, there is a flu vaccine for your pet. If it is flu season, don’t forget your flu shot… or your pet’s.
2. Salmonella– This one is mostly restricted to pet turtles. Turtles carry the salmonella bacteria naturally, and smaller turtles pose a higher threat of passing off the disease.
3. Rabies– One of the most well-known diseases able to be passed on from one species to another. Luckily, rabies is uncommon now that pets are required by law to be kept up to date on their rabies vaccination.
4. Hantavirus– This disease is most commonly transmitted from pet rats. It was not known to be in pet rodents until early 2017.
5. Leptospirosis– A less well-known disease, ‘lepto’ has been breaking out across the midwest. It is very heavily advised to get your pet a lepto vaccine if possible.