PUBLIC HEALTH specialists with the HSE have issued a statement reminding parents of the responsibilities of owning a domestic pet and of the associated health risks to family members.
According to the statement: "The health of the family pet should be a priority for every pet-owner, and parents have a responsibility to ensure that the family pet does not cause family members to get sick."
Specialist in Public Health Medicine with the HSE, Dr Ann Marie O'Byrne, said that some people are unaware that some infections such as roundworm, tapeworm, toxoplasmosis, toxocariasis and salmonellosis can be passed between animals and humans.
Dr Byrne is a member of the South Eastern Zoonoses Committee, an expert group of veterinary and human health professionals who aim to prevent infections that can pass between animals and people.
"The best way to avoid animal to human transfer of infections is to thoroughly wash your hands after handling your pet," said Dr O'Byrne.
"Even if the contact amounts to just a passing cuddle, you should wash your hands as soon as possible afterwards and always before eating."
Toxoplasmosis is a rare disease but it can be particularly dangerous to pregnant women and to people whose immune system is not working properly.
Pregnant women can suffer a miscarriage or the baby may suffer from severe brain damage, blindness or other serious defects because of it.
Individuals who are immunocompromised, such as those recovering from treatment for cancer, after organ transplantation, or those infected with HIV, are more at risk of developing severe infection of the brain, the heart, the lungs or the eye, it emerged.
