America is a nation that loves its pets, and it's impossible to put a value on the pleasure that our furry, feathery, or even scaly friends provide.

However, on the negative side of the ledger, there are some health costs that often go overlooked but which can sometimes have serious or even deadly consequences.

We've all become accustomed in recent times to fears over swine flu and bird flu, but the health risks posed by animals don't need to include the word pandemic in order to be worthy of our awareness and diligence in minimizing.

Neither do the animals need to be mighty of claw or fangs, as we'll see as we run through five of the most common health threats posed by household pets.

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