A group of more than 200 physicians and veterinarians met yesterday to discuss the “common infections” — including SARS, and bird flu – increasingly shared by people and their pets.

“It’s not a lot of times that we do get to interact with veterinarians,” said Dr. Andrew Miller, a physician, speaking at the conference. “It’s the first conference that I’ve ever gone to in terms of infectious disease with two-legged people and four-legged animals.” The conference, called Pets, People and Pathogens, was on Zoonotic diseases, and was sponsored by the Rhode Island Veterinary Medical Association in Providence, R.I. Physicians said they recognize pets play a vital role in many people’s lives, but that people need education about some of the infections, like mad cow disease, that animals can pass on to their owners. This is especially the case for the ill — or for pregnant women. “For example, somebody who has AIDS or somebody who is on chemotherapeutic agents for cancer, those people might be more susceptible to infections transmitted by animals,” Dr. Peter Karczmar, a physician, speaking at the conference, said.