Zoonosis Part 2 (Diseases caused by animals)
Umer Rizwan
January 22, 2008
The strange findings of a survey conducted by health professionals in America shows that pets are not the number one choice with most Americans. The reported statistics show after learning about hazards of pets out of hundred 17 people wanted to keep dogs as pets, 7 gerbils, 5 ferrets and 2 cats. If you are wondering about the rest, well the remaining 69 Americans decided to opt for rock as pet. Yes, a rock. Majority preferred rock of a size of a palm that they could be held and played with. Should America have Rock-Pet shops? Well you decide.
In the first part of Zoonosis, diseases caught by humans from pets and farm animals were discussed. This part will cover diseases caused by insects and pests including deadly West Nile virus and Monkey pox. Like Zoonosis-1, the purpose of this article is not to discourage pets´ owners, but just to caution them about risks posed by pets, help both owners and pets live in a safe and healthy environment.
The article also aims to help pet owners make informed choices without compromising owners´ individual emotional, companionship and or purely security needs. However, it is expected that after reading this article the owners will be in a better position to take precautions for personal safety and health of the pet also. This information should help the owners maintain tricky balance between their desire to keep pets, their health and health of their pet.
Reportedly, West Nile virus (WNV) has spread all across America in 2006. It was first reported in three states around 2000/2001. The clinical statistics show that only one out of five infected people will show symptoms of WNV. They could be similar to Malaise, Anorexia, nausea/vomiting, eye pain, headache, Myalgia, rash and Lymphadenopathy. The statistics shows that those infected with WNV also develop antibodies. However those having severe infections- 1 in 150 people- can cause neurological disease and some symptoms like fever, weakness, GI symptoms, mental status changes and minority also form a rash of the neck, trunk, arms, or legs. This neurologic WNV requires support as a treatment.
The WNV most commonly occurs in the elderly, and is usually fatal in people above seventy (the mortality rate is highest in cases who are between seventy to eighty nine years of age) and have meningitis in mosquito season. The mosquitoes transmit the virus. They suck blood from infected animals (usually birds) and humans are infected when the mosquito sucks human blood. Dead, infected birds also transmit it.
The infection rate of WNV is highest in cold or mild places including Southern America, where mostly damp atmosphere provides an excellent environment for the mosquitoes to breed. The mosquitoes can breed all year round, but the risk is the highest during mosquito season.
WNV can also grown in any house that has similar environment- damp and cold to moderate temperature, less or no sunlight. To reduce risk of WNV in such living quarters, make sure that there is no standing water around or near the quarters. Try to have as much sunlight and fresh air in the house as possible by drawing shades during light hours and opening windows and doors. The stagnant water in the in containers of indoor plants is reported to have been source of WNV. Take necessary steps to avoid mosquitoes use these containers for breeding or stay by disinfecting them regularly and keeping them dry. Ideally, containers should not hold water in the first place.
Those living close to wet areas like swamps, ponds, etc. should avoid going near such areas because the mosquitoes that spread the disease are present in such areas in large numbers.
The Monkey pox virus is mostly present in Central and Western Africa. It was discovered in 1958 in the laboratory monkeys. Some animals can get Monkey pox, mainly the African squirrel, rats, mice, rabbits and prairie dogs. In America, Monkeypox was reported in June 2003 when people reported sick after handling pet prairie dogs that were infected with Monkey pox. It was reported that the prairies arrived from Ghana to Texas in April 2003 and contained 800 mammals of 9 different species, including squirrels, rats, porcupines and mice, and a few Gambian giant rats which were sent from this ship to Illinois. The rats that were kept close to the prairie dogs in the ship infected the Prairie dogs that were later sold in Marshfield, Wisconsin. Their whereabouts are unknown, but it is believed that the virus spread from the rats to the prairie dogs and to other animals, subsequently.
Monkey pox belongs to the group of smallpox (Variola) and Cowpox virus. It is spread to humans by an infected animal´s bite, touching its blood, touching its body fluids and its rash. It can also spread from humans to humans primarily by large respiratory droplets during face to face contact, touching body fluids and touching bedding or contaminated clothing.
After a 12-day incubation period the Monkey pox virus patients suffer from fever resulting in fatigue for 1-3 days afterwards, headache, muscle aches, backache, Lymphadenopathy, a rash commonly starting on the face and spreads from papule vesicle to crust, scab and raises fluid-filled vesicles. There is no treatment or specific therapy for Monkey pox yet. There are no statistics available for Monkey pox in America. The fatality rates in Africa are 1-10%. It is believed that role of lack of medical care or under serving and poor nutrition may have role in fatality rates.
In order to reduce chances of getting Monkey pox, avoid contact with stray, exotic, sick, wild animals especially monkeys and those suffering from diarrhea. Zoo and Safari visitors should avoid touching animals.
The Bubonic plague is the first in rat (and almost all rodents) rodent related plagues. The patient experiences symptoms like headache, nausea, vomiting, aching joints, and a general feeling of ill health. They can also complain of sudden pain and swelling of the lymph nodes of the groin or rarely of the armpit or neck. The patient's body temperature rises up to 38° and 40° C and it is accompanied by shivering. The pulse rate and respiration rate increase, and the victim becomes exhausted and apathetic. The buboes swell until they are approximately the size of a chicken egg. Luckily, in nonfatal cases, the temperature begins to fall in about five days and approaches normal in about two weeks.
Bubonic plague like all plagues is air borne and spread from human to human and rat to rat. The best precaution is to keep living quarters clear of rats, their waste and cover food. There are reports of uncovered food contaminated with rat urine and waste which if consumed could result in serious complication and even death.
Next is the Primary Pneumonic plague in which the patient´s sputum is at first slimy and tinted with blood and later becomes free-flowing and bright red. Death occurs in most cases two or three days after the first appearance of symptoms. Again, rats are the culprits.
In Primary Septicemia plague, the victim has a sudden onset of high fever and turns deep purple in several hours, often dying same day the symptoms first develop. The purple color, which appears in all plague victims during their last hours, is due to respiratory failure; the popular name Black Death that is associated with the disease is derived from this symptom.
Plague can be prevented and treated. Take preventive measures, such as sanitation, killing rats, and preventing the transportation of rats in ships arriving at ports. This step has proved to be effective in reducing the incidences of plague. Individuals who contract the disease are isolated, put to bed, and fed fluids and easily digestible foods. Sedatives can be used to reduce pain and to quiet delirium. Usually, antibiotics have proved successful in treating nearly all cases of plague. However, with the onset of symptoms the nearest doctor should be contacted to avoid complications and even death. Plague is treatable and there can be no excuse for endangering human life.
However, despite all a strain of plague was discovered in a child from Madagascar in 1997 that was resistant to all antibiotics known to have cured normal cases. The child did recover, but scientists are still worried about that strain which is still a major potential threat to public health.
The pet owners by following few basic health tips can avoid complex diseases. Wash the hands before eating/smoking (or any other activities involving you hands having contact with your mouth), keep pets´ living and feeding areas clean, keep the pets flea-free, don´t touch pet vomit, feces or urine. If you sleep with your mouth open, avoid sleeping with your pet to prevent flea hopping from your pet into your mouth. The fleas are digested in the owner´s stomach and they release harmful parasites that lead to a cycle of different diseases.
Therefore, it is important that pet owners think twice before they allow their pets slobber their face or kiss their pet because they do not know where their pet (dog/cat´s) mouth has been. There are pets that eat their own waste or urine or been to local garbage dumps.
The strange findings of a survey conducted by health professionals in America shows that pets are not the number one choice with most Americans. The reported statistics show after learning about hazards of pets out of hundred 17 people wanted to keep dogs as pets, 7 gerbils, 5 ferrets and 2 cats. If you are wondering about the rest, well the remaining 69 Americans decided to opt for rock as pet. Yes, a rock. Majority preferred rock of a size of a palm that they could be held and played with. Should America have Rock-Pet shops? Well you decide.
Lastly, pets are pets and for those who love their pets there can be no substitute. However, despite all goodness that pets bring there are limitations. The pets should not be the reason to endanger human safety and health. If pets and their owners wish to continue enjoying each other, the owners need to recognize dangers to their health and limitations of keeping pets. The pet owners by maintaining reasonable distance between their pet and themselves can enjoy their pets and still preserve their health and safety. It is hoped that this article helps the owners make informed choices. The animal rights and care groups can use this information to make pets safe through medication and vaccination etc.
Writer´s Note: Most of the information included in this article has been taken from reliable professional sources. However, the pet owners should seek professional advice on the subject.
In the first part of Zoonosis, diseases caught by humans from pets and farm animals were discussed. This part will cover diseases caused by insects and pests including deadly West Nile virus and Monkey pox. Like Zoonosis-1, the purpose of this article is not to discourage pets´ owners, but just to caution them about risks posed by pets, help both owners and pets live in a safe and healthy environment.
The article also aims to help pet owners make informed choices without compromising owners´ individual emotional, companionship and or purely security needs. However, it is expected that after reading this article the owners will be in a better position to take precautions for personal safety and health of the pet also. This information should help the owners maintain tricky balance between their desire to keep pets, their health and health of their pet.
Reportedly, West Nile virus (WNV) has spread all across America in 2006. It was first reported in three states around 2000/2001. The clinical statistics show that only one out of five infected people will show symptoms of WNV. They could be similar to Malaise, Anorexia, nausea/vomiting, eye pain, headache, Myalgia, rash and Lymphadenopathy. The statistics shows that those infected with WNV also develop antibodies. However those having severe infections- 1 in 150 people- can cause neurological disease and some symptoms like fever, weakness, GI symptoms, mental status changes and minority also form a rash of the neck, trunk, arms, or legs. This neurologic WNV requires support as a treatment.
The WNV most commonly occurs in the elderly, and is usually fatal in people above seventy (the mortality rate is highest in cases who are between seventy to eighty nine years of age) and have meningitis in mosquito season. The mosquitoes transmit the virus. They suck blood from infected animals (usually birds) and humans are infected when the mosquito sucks human blood. Dead, infected birds also transmit it.
The infection rate of WNV is highest in cold or mild places including Southern America, where mostly damp atmosphere provides an excellent environment for the mosquitoes to breed. The mosquitoes can breed all year round, but the risk is the highest during mosquito season.
WNV can also grown in any house that has similar environment- damp and cold to moderate temperature, less or no sunlight. To reduce risk of WNV in such living quarters, make sure that there is no standing water around or near the quarters. Try to have as much sunlight and fresh air in the house as possible by drawing shades during light hours and opening windows and doors. The stagnant water in the in containers of indoor plants is reported to have been source of WNV. Take necessary steps to avoid mosquitoes use these containers for breeding or stay by disinfecting them regularly and keeping them dry. Ideally, containers should not hold water in the first place.
Those living close to wet areas like swamps, ponds, etc. should avoid going near such areas because the mosquitoes that spread the disease are present in such areas in large numbers.
The Monkey pox virus is mostly present in Central and Western Africa. It was discovered in 1958 in the laboratory monkeys. Some animals can get Monkey pox, mainly the African squirrel, rats, mice, rabbits and prairie dogs. In America, Monkeypox was reported in June 2003 when people reported sick after handling pet prairie dogs that were infected with Monkey pox. It was reported that the prairies arrived from Ghana to Texas in April 2003 and contained 800 mammals of 9 different species, including squirrels, rats, porcupines and mice, and a few Gambian giant rats which were sent from this ship to Illinois. The rats that were kept close to the prairie dogs in the ship infected the Prairie dogs that were later sold in Marshfield, Wisconsin. Their whereabouts are unknown, but it is believed that the virus spread from the rats to the prairie dogs and to other animals, subsequently.
Monkey pox belongs to the group of smallpox (Variola) and Cowpox virus. It is spread to humans by an infected animal´s bite, touching its blood, touching its body fluids and its rash. It can also spread from humans to humans primarily by large respiratory droplets during face to face contact, touching body fluids and touching bedding or contaminated clothing.
After a 12-day incubation period the Monkey pox virus patients suffer from fever resulting in fatigue for 1-3 days afterwards, headache, muscle aches, backache, Lymphadenopathy, a rash commonly starting on the face and spreads from papule vesicle to crust, scab and raises fluid-filled vesicles. There is no treatment or specific therapy for Monkey pox yet. There are no statistics available for Monkey pox in America. The fatality rates in Africa are 1-10%. It is believed that role of lack of medical care or under serving and poor nutrition may have role in fatality rates.
In order to reduce chances of getting Monkey pox, avoid contact with stray, exotic, sick, wild animals especially monkeys and those suffering from diarrhea. Zoo and Safari visitors should avoid touching animals.
The Bubonic plague is the first in rat (and almost all rodents) rodent related plagues. The patient experiences symptoms like headache, nausea, vomiting, aching joints, and a general feeling of ill health. They can also complain of sudden pain and swelling of the lymph nodes of the groin or rarely of the armpit or neck. The patient's body temperature rises up to 38° and 40° C and it is accompanied by shivering. The pulse rate and respiration rate increase, and the victim becomes exhausted and apathetic. The buboes swell until they are approximately the size of a chicken egg. Luckily, in nonfatal cases, the temperature begins to fall in about five days and approaches normal in about two weeks.
Bubonic plague like all plagues is air borne and spread from human to human and rat to rat. The best precaution is to keep living quarters clear of rats, their waste and cover food. There are reports of uncovered food contaminated with rat urine and waste which if consumed could result in serious complication and even death.
Next is the Primary Pneumonic plague in which the patient´s sputum is at first slimy and tinted with blood and later becomes free-flowing and bright red. Death occurs in most cases two or three days after the first appearance of symptoms. Again, rats are the culprits.
In Primary Septicemia plague, the victim has a sudden onset of high fever and turns deep purple in several hours, often dying same day the symptoms first develop. The purple color, which appears in all plague victims during their last hours, is due to respiratory failure; the popular name Black Death that is associated with the disease is derived from this symptom.
Plague can be prevented and treated. Take preventive measures, such as sanitation, killing rats, and preventing the transportation of rats in ships arriving at ports. This step has proved to be effective in reducing the incidences of plague. Individuals who contract the disease are isolated, put to bed, and fed fluids and easily digestible foods. Sedatives can be used to reduce pain and to quiet delirium. Usually, antibiotics have proved successful in treating nearly all cases of plague. However, with the onset of symptoms the nearest doctor should be contacted to avoid complications and even death. Plague is treatable and there can be no excuse for endangering human life.
However, despite all a strain of plague was discovered in a child from Madagascar in 1997 that was resistant to all antibiotics known to have cured normal cases. The child did recover, but scientists are still worried about that strain which is still a major potential threat to public health.
The pet owners by following few basic health tips can avoid complex diseases. Wash the hands before eating/smoking (or any other activities involving you hands having contact with your mouth), keep pets´ living and feeding areas clean, keep the pets flea-free, don´t touch pet vomit, feces or urine. If you sleep with your mouth open, avoid sleeping with your pet to prevent flea hopping from your pet into your mouth. The fleas are digested in the owner´s stomach and they release harmful parasites that lead to a cycle of different diseases.
Therefore, it is important that pet owners think twice before they allow their pets slobber their face or kiss their pet because they do not know where their pet (dog/cat´s) mouth has been. There are pets that eat their own waste or urine or been to local garbage dumps.
The strange findings of a survey conducted by health professionals in America shows that pets are not the number one choice with most Americans. The reported statistics show after learning about hazards of pets out of hundred 17 people wanted to keep dogs as pets, 7 gerbils, 5 ferrets and 2 cats. If you are wondering about the rest, well the remaining 69 Americans decided to opt for rock as pet. Yes, a rock. Majority preferred rock of a size of a palm that they could be held and played with. Should America have Rock-Pet shops? Well you decide.
Lastly, pets are pets and for those who love their pets there can be no substitute. However, despite all goodness that pets bring there are limitations. The pets should not be the reason to endanger human safety and health. If pets and their owners wish to continue enjoying each other, the owners need to recognize dangers to their health and limitations of keeping pets. The pet owners by maintaining reasonable distance between their pet and themselves can enjoy their pets and still preserve their health and safety. It is hoped that this article helps the owners make informed choices. The animal rights and care groups can use this information to make pets safe through medication and vaccination etc.
Writer´s Note: Most of the information included in this article has been taken from reliable professional sources. However, the pet owners should seek professional advice on the subject.