Animals provide many benefits to health and wellbeing, but some infections can pass from animals to people.
Understanding the risks can help you enjoy outdoor activities, pets and wildlife safely.
Bites and stings
Some insects and animals can transmit infections through bites or stings.
Examples include:
- Lyme disease from ticks
- malaria from mosquitoes in some countries
- infections following animal or human bites
Find out what to do if bitten or stung:
Be tick aware
Spending time outdoors is great for physical and mental wellbeing. However, ticks are common in Devon, particularly between spring and autumn.
Some ticks carry bacteria that can cause Lyme or other types of disease. There are things we can all do to reduce the chance of being bitten by a tick whilst enjoying the outdoors. For example:
- walk on clearly defined paths to avoid brushing against vegetation
- wear long trousers and long-sleeved tops to limit direct skin exposure
- wear light-coloured clothing, which makes crawling ticks easier to spot
- use an insect repellent containing DEET, following the manufacturer’s guidance
- regularly check clothing and exposed skin during outdoor activity and brush off any crawling ticks immediately
After spending time outdoors, check:
- yourself for ticks
- children for ticks
- pets for ticks
When checking, pay particular attention to skin folds and areas where ticks are commonly found including: armpits, groin, behind the knees, around the waistband, wrists, the back of the neck and the hairline.
These simple checks only take a few minutes and can help reduce the risk of illness.
If you do find you have been bitten by a tick the most important thing is to remove it as soon as possible.
You can easily remove any attached tick using fine-tipped tweezers or a tick removal tool. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull upward slowly and firmly.
The longer an infected tick remains attached, the greater the risk of disease being passed from the tick, so quick removal is important.
Watch our short video featuring a Devon resident sharing her experience of a tick bite and read UKHSA guidance on reducing the risk of tick bites.
Bird flu (avian influenza)
Although bird flu mainly affects birds, reducing unnecessary contact with birds that might be infected, helps protect both animal and human health. Sea gulls in particular are known to be carriers of bird flu, but they don’t always look unwell when infected.
Avoid touching sick or dead wild birds and follow official guidance if you encounter them. Keep birds away from your food and wash your hands or any personal items after contact with birds or bird droppings.
Learn more about recognising bird flu and helping prevent its spread
If you keep any number of birds, it is a legal requirement to register them.