We’ve featured more than a few posts about not kissing chickens. The same caution applies to calves. According to Jeff Bender, DVM, MS, DACVPM, the Centers for Disease Control reported 59 disease outbreaks tied to animal contact in 2017. Of these, 25 were linked to farm livestock and 15 to poultry.
Source: Dairy Herd Management, September 14, 2020. Link. The zoonotic “biggies” when it comes to raising calves are salmonella, cryptosporidium parvum, campylobacter and E. coli 0157:H7. Calves and older cattle can be “asymptomatic carriers” of these organisms, meaning they have the potential to make people sick, even though they are unaffected.
INSIGHTS: Just don’t kiss critters. Period.