Although few pet diseases are transmitted to people, the potential exists, especially when it comes to parasites such as roundworms and hookworms.

These worms live in the intestines of dogs and cats, where they lay thousands of eggs. The eggs leave the body through feces and continue to develop into larvae in the ground soil.

Hookworm larvae can burrow into bare skin, causing itchy sores known as creeping eruption. Ingested roundworm larvae can travel throughout the body, causing serious inflammation and illness in organs like the brain and eye.

Fortunately, prevention is easy. Remove your pet’s waste promptly before eggs become infective, and cover sandboxes that cats might be used as litter boxes. Shoes and gloves also provide a barrier against creeping eruption.

Check your pets for worms and give monthly preventives as needed. Better to be safe than wormy.