pet to human new communicable disease

Question
Dear Dr. Fry,

Today I was told that a friend's 23month old child died at the hospital within a few hours of a high fever.  Someone told my friend several small children in TN have recently died suddenly within hours of a high fever, it was supposedly
linked to pets, cats/dogs specifically.  Is there
any truth to this that you are aware of and if so, what is it, is there a vaccine for it.

  Thank you for your help,

   Gigi Held  

Answer
I am not aware of this.  There are certainly some things that can be passed from pets to people such as Leptospirosis (and dogs are routinely vaccinated for this), Bordetella (also known as kennel cough and there is a vaccine), Campylobacter and other bacteria as well as some intestinal parasites (Giardia, Toxoplasmosis, Roundworms...however, good hygeine usually prevents transmission).  And many of these things can be picked up from a contaminated area outside and not directly from an animal...wildlife harbors a lot of disease as well.