# Which STIs can be transmitted from animals to humans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 31, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387 "2005-08-31T04:49:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/1 "2005-08-31T04:49:54Z")
Which sexually transmitted infections can be transmitted from animals to humans? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/2 "2005-08-31T05:54:04Z")
Um…you’re really hot. Not just hot…beautiful. (I just looked at your website.) About your question, there are a wide variety of things I could say, but I’m going to have to tell the truth and admit that I have no idea. It’s not exactly my area of expertise. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/3 "2005-08-31T06:12:00Z")
> [@Argent Towers](#): > > Um…you’re really hot. Not just hot…beautiful. (I just looked at your website.) > > About your question, there are a wide variety of things I could say, but I’m going to have to tell the truth and admit that I have no idea. It’s not exactly my area of expertise. You sir, are a very strange creature. OP: “What’s the worst disease I could get if I had sex with an animal?” AT: “Damn, you’re hot! Wanna hook up?” (I’m not implying that the OP’s intent was to find out if it’s safe to have sex with animals…just an observation…) ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/4 "2005-08-31T06:22:11Z")
Did I ask “wanna hook up?” All I said was that she was beautiful - and I meant it. I’m NOT implying that she does it with animals, but even if she did, she could still be beautiful. You can be beautiful and twisted at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/5 "2005-08-31T06:47:16Z")
> [@Argent Towers](#): > > Did I ask “wanna hook up?” All I said was that she was beautiful - and I meant it. > > I’m NOT implying that she does it with animals, but even if she did, she could still be beautiful. You can be beautiful and twisted at the same time. :mad: Sorry, I know you weren’t asking or implying the “hooking up” part. It was just a little attempt at humor that went horribly awry. No offense was meant. It’s just the comment seemed a little funny to me, considering the circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/6 "2005-08-31T06:49:36Z")
Haw haw, it’s ok. **Kimera,** you’re so hot! ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/7 "2005-08-31T06:56:04Z")
And to take this thread back on its proper tracks, I googled this: [STDs and sex with animals](http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/1056.html) (site may be a bit dubious, but it’s at a university website, so I assume the author is qualified.) And from the [Wikipedia article on zoophilia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoophilia#Health_and_safety) : > [@](#): > > However, a few uncommon but treatable infections such as Brucellosis can be transferred. AIDS is fragile and only lives in primates (humans, apes and monkeys) and is not believed to survive long in other species. Animals’ and humans’ bodily fluids are not incompatible, but allergic reactions can sometimes occur. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/8 "2005-08-31T07:03:17Z")
He’s right, you are quite hot. As for the STIs, beasts the heck out of me… Ok, that one was really bad. And when did they become STIs, instead of STDs? ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/9 "2005-08-31T12:44:49Z")
Brucellosis is the one I’d worry about. If I were . . . never mind. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/10 "2005-08-31T12:57:51Z")
BTW, pubic lice _can not_ be spread from a dog to a human. I have been asked about that situation several times over the years. After giving my answer, a very angry woman leaves the room. Come on guys, think up a better lie! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/11 "2005-08-31T13:05:12Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > BTW, pubic lice _can not_ be spread from a dog to a human. I have been asked about that situation several times over the years. After giving my answer, a very angry woman leaves the room. Come on guys, think up a better lie! 😉 I thought all parasites, like lice, ticks, fleas and mange, can infect both animal and people. ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/12 "2005-08-31T13:06:37Z")
> [@BluePitbull](#): > > I thought all parasites, like lice, ticks, fleas and mange, can infect both animal and people. Although I am suprised that she is blaming the pubic lice thing on her pet ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/13 "2005-08-31T13:12:11Z")
> [@BluePitbull](#): > > I thought all parasites, like lice, ticks, fleas and mange, can infect both animal and people. You thought wrong. Sarcoptes, fleas, and ticks can cause problems in people. Demodex, lice, and many other parasites are species specific. And the verb is _infest_, not _infect_. Bacterial organisms (for instance) cause infections. Fleas cause infestations. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/14 "2005-08-31T13:16:31Z")
> [@BluePitbull](#): > > Although I am suprised that she is blaming the pubic lice thing on her pet (I think you misunderstand - her \*husband \*blames \*his \*pubic lice on the dog. Then the mean old vet outs him as a liar when she asks him (the vet) about it. Angry wife ensues.) ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/15 "2005-08-31T13:37:24Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > (I think you misunderstand - her \*husband \*blames \*his \*pubic lice on the dog. Then the mean old vet outs him as a liar when she asks him (the vet) about it. Angry wife ensues.) Now I get it. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/16 "2005-08-31T16:58:48Z")
Aren’t humans and some animal (I’m remembering armadillo, for some reason, but that’s probably not it) the only creatures that can contract gonorrhea? Not exactly the same thing as the OP’s asking, no, but thought it might be of interest. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/17 "2005-08-31T17:05:33Z")
Armadillos can contract leprosy. Cite: [http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/disease/leprosy/leprosy2.html](http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/disease/leprosy/leprosy2.html) ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/18 "2005-08-31T18:23:27Z")
Well, that was the most bizarre hijack I’ve ever seen. Not unwarranted, of course, but still. Anyway, WRT the OP, there was a case a few years back where the transplant of a baboon (I think) liver transmitted a form of baboon herpes to the recipient ([cite](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/461583.stm)). I’m not sure if that means that form of herpes can be sexually transmitted, but it doesn’t seem entirely unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/19 "2005-08-31T18:46:25Z")
A bite or scratch (if you’re into that kind of thing) from a herpes-B-infected macaque/rhesus could lead to infection in a human. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387/20 "2005-08-31T18:56:03Z")
> [@BluePitbull](#): > > Now I get it. Given your SN, I hope you don’t. :eek: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-stis-can-be-transmitted-from-animals-to-humans/319387.md?page=2)