Study shows pets are good for you!
A study published in the American journal Pediatrics has revealed that babies who are in close contact with dogs or cats during their first twelve months of life were found to have better health and less likelihood of suffering from respiratory infections, compared to those without any pets or with no close contact with animals.
Researchers from the Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland, set out to determine what effect contact with dogs and cats might have on respiratory symptoms among children during their first year of life.
The study did not give a reason for the result, but it did suggest that being around a dog that spends at least part of its day outdoors may boost a child's immune system during their first year of life. Cats also seemed to convey some protection to babies, although the observed effect was weaker than with dogs.
The research was based on 397 children in Finland and, overall, babies in homes with cats or dogs were about 30 per cent less likely to have respiratory infectious symptoms, including coughing, wheezing and rhinitis, as well as being half as likely to get ear infections.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
