Infectious Diseases

If you think your pet may have such a disease, please inform the receptionist when you make the appointment and again when you arrive at the clinic. You may be asked to leave your pet in the car until such time as the vet is ready to see you. The hospital has a special room with a side entrance, which you may be asked to use. This is to ensure that you don’t put any other animals at risk. The hospital has a special isolation ward for such cases. We have disinfection policies in place to prevent the transmission of these diseases.

Examples

Cat snuffles
Kennel Cough in dogs
Parvo virus enteritis (diarrhoea with blood)
Ringworm

There are many others. If you are unsure please ask a staff member.

YES!

These diseases are known as zoonoses. In New Zealand we are fortunate not to have many of the more serious tropical diseases commonly found elsewhere. There are still significant health hazards. The most significant are:

Parasites such as worms, mites (scabies) and fleas
Ringworm (fungal skin infection)
Campylobacter (diarrhoea)
Leptospirosis (Weill’s disease)
Psittacosis
Cat scratch fever
Tuberculosis
Yersiniosis (plague)
Toxoplasmosis and cryptosporidium

Toxoplasmosis can be dangerous to pregnant women, occasionally causing abortion.

Vets are trained to recognise and prevent transmission of these diseases to people. People are not only infected by direct contact with infected animals, but are commonly infected by eating or drinking contaminated animal products.

Call us or e-mail us if you need more information.

vatoffice@netvet.co.nz