The reason that can happen in Europe is that the eggs there are not subject to the same kind of washing process they are here, which washes off a protective natural film outside the shell. Some info, not to argue or persuade, just interesting: Hard boiled eggs Again, not to argue, but when people tell me they have been doing things for years and everything has been OK, I think of loaded guns in the living room, HIV, rhythm birth control, no vaccinations, and similar risks where everything is OK until it's not.

The disease you can get from litter boxes is toxoplasmosis. Cats get it from eating rodents, so indoor/outdoor cats pose the worst risk. You can also get it from digging in your garden if a cat or wild animal has used it as a potty. Most people just get flu-like symptoms, but it can be very dangerous to unborn babies and people with compromised immune systems. Someone mentioned roundworms earlier and they are a bigger risk from wild animals than pets if your pets are getting vet care. Most heartworm preventative medicines also kill roundworms. They are a scary parasite because although they remain in the digestive tract of animals, in humans they migrate all over the body, even into the brain. Kids sometimes get them from digging in dirt where wild animals have been. They get the eggs under their fingernails from feces in the dirt and then put their hands in their mouths. Another concern that I don't think anyone has mentioned is a bacteria you can get from pet birds that causes lung cancer in humans. They say you should clean a bird's cage everyday to prevent the bacteria from growing in the droppings to be safe. We've had all kinds of pets all my life, including when my kids were small and as far as I know none of us has ever gotten sick from them. That said, I am very, very careful and try to be aware of all the risks with each type of pet. No face licking is allowed from the dogs, I keep their vaccinations and medications up to date, and I taught my kids to always wash their hands after handling any of the pets. I think if we really thought about all the dangers we face around us, we'd be afraid to touch anything or even breathe. But there's no reason to not be aware and to take reasonable precautions to keep your family healthy. Here is a link that might be useful: Toxoplasmosis

Hi. I'm new to this forum, and thought I might contribute something on this subject. I am a practicing veterinarian and a dog and cat owner. The issue of feeding a raw vs. commercial pet diet is like any other issue -- you will find people who are for it and people who are against it. Personally, I do not feed my dogs and cats raw meat, nor will I ever do so. I feed them a high-quality commercial diet -- and one of my dogs is a 14-year-old, 80-pound Golden Retriever mix. The last time I did bloodwork on him (about three months ago) the results were absolutely normal. My other (younger) dogs are also completely healthy. However, if DONE CORRECTLY, I do not see a problem in feeding a raw diet to pets. Having said that, I'd like to address the question that was actually asked by the original poster: Do parasites increase when dogs/cats are fed raw diets? And the answer is: There is a greater RISK of parasites when feeding raw diets. No, not all dogs and cats are going to contract parasites when fed a raw diet. But there is certainly the possibility. Someone said that tapeworms are spread by fleas, and that person is correct. SOME tapeworms are spread by fleas. But there are many species of tapeworms, including beef and pork tapeworms. Some species of tapeworms are spread when a predator (such as a dog or cat) ingests the tapeworm cysts that are imbedded in the raw meat. These cysts (called hydatid cysts) are absolutely disgusting, and you can see them by simply Googling "Beef tapeworm hydatid cysts". One of the jobs of meat inspectors in processing plants is to inspect the meat for tapeworm cysts. If any cysts are found in the meat, the entire carcass is condemned. Most of the beef and pork produced in the United States now is tapeworm-free. I heard the radio interview with the raw-meat proponent who said that feeding dogs commercial kibble is the same as a human eating nothing but Cheerios. And I have to say that this is complete crap. It made a good sound bite, but the analogy is nonsense. There are a number of commercial pet foods available that provide pets with a balanced diet, including digestible proteins, vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc. They may cost more, but they are available. Feeding a raw meat diet is very complicated because simply feeding raw steak or raw chicken to your pet is not enough. Pets have specific needs, and some of these can only be fulfilled with special types of foods. For example, cats have a requirement for a substance called "taurine" in their diets. Cats with taurine deficiencies develop retinal degeneration, heart problems, problems with their white blood cell function, and abnormal growth and development. High-quality commercial cat foods contain taurine that cats are able to absorb and use. Cats in the wild obtain their taurine from ingesting the abdominal organs of their prey. This means that if you are feeding a raw meat diet, in order to provide your cat with taurine, you would need to feed all of the abdominal organs as well. Pieces of raw chicken, steak, fish etc are going to cut it, so to speak. All I'm saying is that the diets should be well-researched. I would also highly recommend, when feeding raw meat diets, removing the bones. Large "soup" bones from beef are the only bones I would ever give my dogs (I actually don't give them any bones at all). I have seen too many dogs die of peritonitis from punctured intestines, obstructions from swallowing bones, and impactions from pieces of bones that become cemented together in the colon, causing severe consitpation. Someone said "Vets benefit by animals eating food not designed for them, increased sickness in the way of urinary tract problems, obesity, colitis, diabetes, skin disorders, allergies, etc, etc." I find this offensive and mystifying at the same time. If this is how you feel about veterinarians, how do you trust any of them to care for your pets? Surely you have found SOME good, responsible, ethical vets out there. Personally, I do everything I can to ensure that my patients grow up healthy, and stay healthy. I would MUCH rather do preventative medicine, such as vaccinations, dewormings, prescribe heartworm preventative, etc, than to try to save one of my patients who is extremely ill. When a client brings in a seriously sick animal, I agonize over it, just as I would agonize over one of my own dogs or cats being ill. I beg my clients to keep their pets in good body condition, to keep them on heartworm preventative, to vaccinate for parvovirus. I tell them not to feed poor-quality foods. They don't always listen, but when they do, their pets are generally much healthier than those pets of the people who do not listen to me. So, as far as veterinarians go, my suggestion to you is this ... if you do not trust your veterinarian to give you the best advice, to take the best possible care of your animal, to do what is best for both you and your animal, then you need to find another veterinarian. There are good ones out there.

"However, science yet again proves that fecal matter from animal who consume raw meat is even more of a safety hazard." I read the article you mentioned, but only found it to say that raw meat can contain bacteria (as can kibble) and that it "may" pose feeding risks (as can kibble). I didn't see any factual evidence stating exactly how much more of a risk exists from feeding a raw diet in comparison to kibble, but it's possible I might have missed it. Salmonella, that the article mentioned, I believe said "may" pose a risk, which is not definite or exact. Human health implications of Salmonella-contaminated natural pet treats and raw pet food Author(s): Finley R, Reid-Smith R, Weese JS Source: CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES Volume: 42 Issue: 5 Pages: 686-691 Published: MAR 1 2006 Times Cited: 4 References: 40 Citation Map "Abstract: Human salmonellosis occurs mainly as a result of handling or consuming contaminated food products, with a small percentage of cases being related to other, less well-defined exposures, such as contact with companion animals and natural pet treats. The increasing popularity of raw food diets for companion animals is another potential pet-associated source of Salmonella organisms; however, no confirmed cases of human salmonellosis have been associated with these diets. " When talking about bacteria, I think it's important to take a step back and look at the big picture. Bacteria is everywhere, we don't live in a sterile environment. For example, Salmonella can be commonly found in dirt, carpets, toilet seats, raw meat you prepare to cook for yourself, commercial dry dog food, etc., so I'm not sure that feeding a dog a raw diet really lessons your potential for exposure all that much in comparison. Again using common sense like washing your hands after possible exposure to any bacteria and picking up after your dog in public places would be helpful. Also a large amount of dogs naturally carry Salmonella, as mentioned by the Merrick Veterinarian Manual. "Many dogs and cats are asymptomatic carriers of salmonellae. Clinical disease is uncommon." Lew Olson PHD nutritionist mentions this as well, "Research indicates that approximately 36 percent of healthy dogs and 17 percent of healthy cats carry Salmonella in their digestive tract.3 The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) agrees with these numbers.4 It is interesting to note that these numbers are based on kibble-fed dogs-which means that Salmonella is a natural part of life for our pets regardless of what they are eating." 3. Hand, M.S., Thatcher, C.D., Remillard, R.L., and Roudebush, P. (2000) Small Animal Clinical Nutrition. Mark Morris Institute. Pg. 36-42,188. 4. http://www.avma.org/reference/zoonosis/znsalmonellosis.asp "Jeffery T and Dale D Hancock are actual veterinarians who have gone through veterinary medical school, not random people, who consider themselves experts, on the internet who have no such qualifications." Above in one of my posts I linked Veterinarian Dr. Karen Becker's video discussing raw diets for cats and dogs and why bacteria is nothing to be concerned about according to some veterinary medical journals, she is also an actual veterinarian who has gone through veterinary medical school.