Animals and Your Health

Animals play an important role in the lives of all Iowans. From pets offering companionship and comfort, the role wildlife plays in nature, and production animals providing safe and nutritious foods, our animals help promote healthy habits. When people interact with animals it can help:

  • reduce anxiety and stress,
  • lower blood pressure,
  • decrease risk of heart disease,
  • support children with autism,
  • help veterans with PTSD, and
  • increase social interactions.

With agriculture and food production a main economic driver in Iowa, our state provides countless opportunities for Iowans to work with, learn about, and enjoy animals. Since germs are found everywhere in the environment, all living things carry germs, and people and animals can share germs between each other, Iowa HHS has resources to help promote safe human-animal interactions. These resources provide information on prevention and control steps that anyone can take around animals to protect both human health and animal health.

Resources for Fairs

There is no better place that showcases Iowa’s agricultural heritage than our state, district, and county fairs. Healthy animals and healthy people go together. The following Iowa HHS resources can be used to help keep everyone at the fair, including animals, healthy.

The best way to stop germs from spreading in any setting is with good hand hygiene. The following signs are free to use in any setting where people need to be reminded to wash their hands after interacting with animals. 

Standard Hand Washing Reminder Signs:

Eye-Catching Hand Washing Reminder Signs:

While hand washing is the first step to staying healthy to enjoy fairs, don’t forget to take steps to avoid foodborne illness, getting overheated and dehydrated, or accidentally bringing germs home. These flyers are free to use to educate fair goers before, during, and after visiting a fair.

Resources for Farms

Many steps that keep livestock and poultry healthy when properly implemented, also keep workers healthy. The following handout highlights steps any farm can take to protect both their workers and animals from novel flu viruses: Worker Health, Safety, and on-farm Biosecurity.

Disease Specific Factsheets

Additional Resources

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Healthy Pets, Healthy People - The CDC is a federal authority that provides guidance for state and local organizations regarding human diseases. The Healthy Pets Healthy People website provides pet owners with safe handling tips and general information on animal-transmitted diseases.
  • Companion Animal Parasite Council - The Companion Animal Parasite Council website provides information for veterinary and medical professionals concerning particular diseases. More specifically, it offers in-depth knowledge on external (such as ticks and fleas) and internal (such as roundworms and hookworms) parasites of dogs and cats.
  • National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians - The National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians website provides standardized national recommendations for particular zoonotic disease issues such as rabies, psittacosis, and animals in public settings.
  • The Center for Food Security & Public Health - The Center for Food Security and Public Health is associated with the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine that serves to promote awareness of animal diseases, particularly zoonotic diseases and potential biowarfare agents. The website provides numerous general and technical factsheets on specific diseases as well as excellent resources for cleaning and disinfection methods.