Risks and benefits of the interaction with companion animals

Abstract

Human-animal interactions can either negatively or positively influence psychological and physiological parameters that are critical to human health and well-being. This chapter provides a comprehensive review on the psychological effects of the presence of companion animals and the connections between animal ownership, physical activity and health outcomes, while also covering the potential harms of human-animal contacts, including infectious and parasitic diseases. In addition, this chapter highlights the new perspective of animal sentinel surveillance as a key component of the public health risk assessment, with companion animals being useful to identify sources of environmental pollution, food contaminants, infectious disease transmission and other harmful exposures. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.