Beware of Communicable Diseases of Our Favorite Animals
By bussyien
@bussyien (134)
Indonesia
February 10, 2011 11:22am CST
Just like humans, animals are also not free from disease. This condition applies to pets or wild animals that live freely in nature and living in a cage, like in a zoo. Various diseases can be found, of which only pathogenic to animals or that can be transmitted to humans. In medicine, diseases which can be transmitted from animals to humans or vice versa is called zoonotic diseases. Zoonoses can be caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi.
Below there are some diseases potentially transmitted by animals to humans:
1. Hepatitis
Primates such as apes and monkeys can transmit the disease through scratches hepatitis. People affected by hepatitis will experience liver damage. Symptoms of hepatitis which may reveal a large stomach, vomiting, diarrhea, and yellowish skin. The impact of this disease is death. Therefore, carefully maintaining primates.
2. Rabies
Rabies is caused by a virus. The disease attacks the central nervous system and can be transmitted to humans through bites of animals such as dogs, cats and monkeys. Early symptoms of rabies disease is paralysis and spasms of the body. The patients with this disease may also experience death because of difficulty breathing and swallowing.
3. Toxoplasmosis
The disease is feared by women because it causes infertility or miscarriage always when pregnant. Babies born with disabilities also can also be caused by this disease. The disease is transmitted by animals compatriots cats, like tigers, wild cats and domestic cats.
Those are some diseases transmitted by animals to humans and can cause various health problems of the body. However, it does not mean we should not cherish and take care the animals, but we must always maintain our personal hygiene and cleanliness and health of the animals we keep. Thus, we can avoid the diseases that disrupt the body's health.
Do you have other information about diseases transmitted by animals? Or you have experience about it? Share...
3 responses
@AKRao24 (27424)
• India
10 Feb 11
Dear bussyien, this is an interesting topic.Being a Vet I know the importance of zoonotic diseases more than others as they are more common than what one thinks! Yes you have mentioned three of these diseases, which are transmitted from animals to Human beings.I appreciate your efforts.
Basically about some 1400 pathogens which include,Bacteria, Virus, Fungi, Parasites and pria are responsible for causing various types of disease in Human beings. Of these 1400 pathogens one will be surprised to note that about 60% of these are zoonotic in nature that means they can cause diseases in Human beings and also in the animals. The animal can transmits these diseases to Human beings and Vice versa.
Some diseases are directly communicable to Human beings which we call contagious ones and some are to be spread via some agents which are known as Vectors or carriers. Bug, Bats, Birds, Cats, Cattle,Dogs, Flies, Fleas, Fish, Geese, goat, horse, lice mice, mosquito, monkey,pigs rabbits,rats (Rodents),Sheep, snails,Ticks and wolves are some of the important carriers which can harbour various diseases having zoonotic importance, they can spread the diseases from them to Human beings and some times among the species mentioned in the list.
Now coming to the list of common enzootic diseases, I would like to give a short list of common ones which are - Anthrax, babesiasis,Brucellosis, Borna Virus infection,tuberculosis, Cholera,Cow pox,Dengu Fever, E Coli infection, Viral Encephalitis, helminths, Leptospira,Listoriosis,plague, Pasteurellosis, Q - Fever, Rabies, Ring Worm, Rota Virus, Salmonella,Streptococcus,West Nile Virus and Yellow fever.
Providing the complete list of the causative agents and the carriers responsible for spreading these pathogens is beyond the scope of covering in this discussion as it would be too exhaustive in nature!
So with so many pathogen surrounding us every day and Evey time we have to careful to keep ourselves safe from these organisms. Though our body does have a resistance of our own, strict hygiene, sanitation and clean environment are the prime things which will help us to keep these diseases away from us! Thanks !
@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
10 Feb 11
There is ringworm. Not terribly dangerous, but very contagious and annoying.
