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Some chicken diseases can be transmitted to humans in a variety of ways - for instance, salmonella or e-coli, which are both by fecal/oral transmission, meaning you touch something that is contaminated with feces from the infected chicken, you touch your food or your mouth, and then YOU"VE got it, too! (meaning you're ingesting the organism, though you may or may not actually get sick, some people are more susceptible than others). (Other diseases may be transmitted by breathing spores (like histoplasmosis) or vector born -mosquitoes involved, like with West Nile) but in terms of your little boy, really careful handwashing after handling the chicken, and no eating or touching of mouth or face while holding, would be helpful preventive measures.