INFECTIONS YOU CAN GET

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2 INFECTIONS YOU CAN GET FROM CRITTERS William F. Vincent, Ph.D. Clinical Microbiologist

3 Any disease that can be transmitted from an animal (wild or domestic) either directly (or through a vector ) is called a zoonosis or zoonotic disease Plural l of the word is Zoonoses A slightly more technical definition is that it is an infectious disease that normally infects animals but can also infect humans

4 WHAT ANIMALS CAN CARRY ZOONOTIC DISEASES (PARTIAL LIST) Bats Voles Birds Cats Cattle Chimpanzees and other primates Dogs Fish Fleas Flies Geese Hamsters Lice Mice Deer Monkeys Squirrels Mosquitoes Opossums Pigs (including wild boar) Rabbits and hares Raccoons Rats Rodents Sloths Sheep Snails Ticks Wolves Coyotes

5 POSSIBLE ZOONOTIC DISEASES This list only includes those diseases that we might see in this part of the world and then is still only partial Anthrax Avian influenza Babesiosis Bartonellosis Brucellosis Borreliosis (Lyme disease and others) Campylobacteriosis Cholera Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (VCJD) mad cow disease Cryptosporidiosis Cutaneous larva migrans Escherichia coli 0157:H7 and other STECs Eastern equine encephalitis Western equine encephalitis Venezuelan equine encephalitis Giardiasis Leptospirosis Listeriosis Plague Q-fever Psittacosis or parrot fever Rabies Salmonellosis Swine influenza Toxocariasis Toxoplasmosis Trichinosis Tapeworms (beef, pork, rat and fish) Tularemia or rabbit fever West Nile fever Leprosy

6 Animals I have seen along Connecticut Rivers

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8 Don t let anybody tell you that we don t have y y y these in Connecticut!

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10 GIARDIASIS In this part of the world, this is the most common infection that outdoorsmen get from animals in the woods! The causative agent, Giardia intestinalis, is commonly associated with aquatic animals such as beavers As a result, the disease is often called Beaver fever Any freshwater body of water, including municipal reservoirs, can harbor the cysts of this protozoan

11 Giardiasis, continued Symptoms include diarrhea, loose or watery stools, stomach cramps and upset stomach Symptoms usually begin 1 to 2 weeks after ingestion of the cysts Can last 2 to 6 weeks but occasionally much longer. This can lead to weight loss and dehydration It can easily spread to other members of the family Boiling water is the best way to prevent disease

12 Giardiasis, continued Chlorine tablets are relatively l ineffective i in killing this parasite since the cysts can resist destruction by chlorine A cyst of Giardia intestinalis very hard to kill These cysts can persist in the water (and on your fishing tackle) )for long periods of time Know the enemy!

13 TULAREMIA ( RABBIT FEVER ) Tularemia is a disease of animals and humans caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis Color enhanced electron micrograph of Francisella tularensis Rabbits, hares and rodents (includingsquirrels) are especially susceptible and die in large numbers during an outbreak Rabbit dying from tularemia

14 Transmission Bacterium is highly infectious and can enter human body through skin, eyes, mouth throat or lungs Symptoms often vary according to mode of entry into the body In the U.S., disease can also be transmitted through tick bites (wood tick, dog tick, lone star tick, deer tick) and deer flies Handling infected animals, as occurs during dressing and skinning, is often the means of transmission The organism can survive for weeks in moist soil, hay and decaying animal carcasses

15 Skin lesions are the most common manifestations of tularemia Tularemia of the eye Pulmonary tularemia

16 Diagnosis Diagnosis of tularemia is often difficult: It is a relatively uncommon disease Can often be mistaken for more common illnesses Patients must make sure that they tell their physician about any likely exposures (carcasses, deer fly and tick bites, etc.) Laboratory tests are available Treatment Most common antibiotic is doxycycline Treatment is usually 10 to 21 days although symptoms may last for several weeks Mostpatientscompletel completely recoverer

17 Prevention When hiking, camping or working outdoors: Use effective repellant containing 20 to 30 % DEET Spray clothing (not body) with Permethrin Wear longpants pants, longsleeves and longsocks to keep deer flies and ticks off Deer tick nymph Deer fly Remove attached ticks promptly Don t drinkuntreated surface water

18 When mowing or landscaping: Don t mow over sick ikor dead danimals. Don t use weed whackers near them either! Consider wearing a dust mask to reduce risk of inhaling bacteria If you hunt, trap or skin animals: Use gloves (preferably surgical ones) when handling animals, especially ill rabbits, muskrats, prairie ii dogs and other rodents Cook game meat thoroughly Cook game meat thoroughly before eating

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20 THE MARTHA S VINEYARD PROBLEM! Tularemia has always been present on Martha s Vineyard Tularemia is a very potential candidate as a bioterrorist weapon In 2000, there was a very significant up swing in the number of cases that worried Homeland Security people It appeared that many rabbits on It appeared that many rabbits on the island were infected and landscapers using weed whackers were generating aerosols and infecting themselves via rabbit urine in the soil

21 Every year, there are significant numbers of cases of tularemia on the island There is great concern that this could lead eventually to a large increase in tularemia cases in Southern New England especially among outdoorsmen and landscapers

22 DISEASES TRANSMITTED BY TICKS In this part of the country, the tick usually involved is the deer tick (blacklegged tick) (Ixodes scapularis) This is a very small tick and is often overlooked You got to look for a freckle that wasn t there before! If the tick is removed within 24 hours, infection usually can be prevented

23 TICKBORNE DISEASES IN NEW ENGLAND (Most Common) Lyme Borreliosis Caused by a bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi Originally started in Connecticut very high incidence along the coast of Connecticut If treated with a single dose of Doxycycline within 24 hours, infection can usually be prevented Borrelia burgdorferi the causative agent of Lyme Disease Erythema migrans ( bull s eye rash associated with Lyme disease

24 Anaplasmosis Formerly known as Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) Causative agent is Anaplasma phagocytophilium Transmitted in the same fashion as Lyme disease No rash Symptoms include fever, myalgia, headache, etc. Can easily be confused withother diseases such as influenza Symptoms can range from noneto fatal Anaplasma phagocytophilium inside white blood cells

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26 Babesiosis Babesia microti tiis a parasite (not a bacterium) very similar il to the causative agents of malaria This picture taken through the microscope of a blood smear shows Babesia microti growing inside a red blood cell Many people who are infected with Babesia microti feel fine and donot have any symptoms. Some people develop nonspecific flu like symptoms, such as fever, chills, sweats, headache, bodyaches, loss of appetite, nausea, or fatigue

27 Babesiosis first appeared on Cape Cod several decades ago but thas since spread along the Southern New England coast The disease has now started to spread to the Central areas of the country and the Pacific Coast Babesiosis can be a life threatening disease in certain persons especially: ill Persons without a spleen (or a damaged one) Persons who are immunocompromised Persons with other underlying diseases The elderly

28 Efficiency of Insect Repellents Product Deep Woods OFF OFF Skintastic 6.5 % DDET 24 % DEET 6.5 % DEET 24 % DEET OFF Skintastic for Kids 4.75 % DEET 4.75 % DEET Natrapel Herbal Armor Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard Repello Wristband Minutes of Protection

29 First Salmon!

30 LEPTOSPIROSIS Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals Note the cork screw appearance Another name for it is Fort Bragg fever Usually transmitted through the ingestion of water or food that has been contaminated by the urine of an infected animal Organism has been found in cattle, horses, dogs, wild animals and rodents

31 Symptoms can range from non existent to life threatening Most common are: High fever Severe headache Chills Muscle aches Vomiting Jaundice Many of these symptoms can be mistaken for other diseases Diagnosis is made by laboratory testing of blood and urine samples

32 Fishermen! Be careful when fishingthroughstreams streams that run through marshy areas where there are beavers, muskrats, regular rats, etc. Many cases are associated with this kind of environment Use an alcohol based hand sanitizer for at least 20seconds before eating, drinkingor putting your hands anywhere near your mouth

33 PLAGUE No plague in the United States in the 20 th Century? Guess again! Plague is endemic in the Southwest United States. There are a few dozen cases every year This is the same microorganism (Yersinia pestis) that caused the bubonic plague or Black Death of the Medieval Ages. A bubo on the neck of a patient with bubonic plague

34 Most cases of plague are transmitted to humans by the bite of fleas from infected ground animals such as prairie dogs, squirrels, coyotes The disease can also be transmitted by a bite from an infected animal Distribution of human Distribution of human plague cases in the Southwest of the U.S.

35 SALMONELLOSIS The Salmonella are mainly associated with animals including: Domestic animals (cows, horses, sheep, dogs, cats, etc.) Wild animals (deer, bears, raccoons, rodents, I.) I) Reptiles especially turtles Birds especially domestic poultry The handling of infected animals is one of the major ways to transmit Salmonella Ground water around farms can often be contaminated with Salmonella

36 Ingestion of certain foods is often associated with salmonellosis. These include: Uncooked or poorly cooked poultry Raw meats Uncooked or under cooked kdeggs Uncooked cookie and cake dough Powdered milk Unpasteurized cider No pink please! Veggies that have been irrigated with contaminated water and then eaten raw

37 Symptoms Usually begin 48 to 72 hours after transmission Major symptom is acute gastroenteritis Other symptoms include fever, headache, nausea, muscle aches Treatment The use of antibiotics to treat salmonellosis is not recommended Patients receiving antibiotics have a much better chance of becoming carriers than do untreated patients!

38 CAMPYLOBACTERIOSIS This disease is very similar to salmonellosis in almost all ways including: Transmission Symptoms Treatment Stool specimens must be submitted to the laboratory in order to tell the difference. It is probably as common as salmonellosis in this part of the world

39 Often transmitted by drinking water on or near a farm that has been contaminated by domestic animals including cows Unpasteurized cider has been involved in the past Affects about 2.4 million persons in U.S. each year probably more common than salmonellosis This microorganism was totally unknown until the 1970s Use of antibiotics in treatment t tunder debate Organism has a cork screw like appearance under the microscope

40 Oak Orchard River while fishing for steelhead Nice surprise!

41 Shiga Toxigenic E. coli Often referred to in the popular press as E. coli O157 not entirely accurate as there are a number of other strains Symptoms are very similar to those of salmonellosis Most often associated with undercooked beef and with veggies that have been irrigated or washed with contaminated water Very dangerous to children as they may develop hemorrhagic uremic syndrome (HUS) and death rate is high Thee first big outbreak was in Jack in The Box restaurants in the West transmitted by undercooked hamburger

42 RABIES Rabies is endemic in the United States which means that it is always there waiting to cause an epidemic Small ground animals, such as skunks, squirrels, raccoons, bats, foxes, etc are the most common source of infection in this part of the country Canine species such as wild dogs, wolves and coyotes are also potential carriers Human rabies victim A dog showing signs of rabies

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44 This disease is only found din other parts of the world? Think again! There are roughly 70 to 90 new cases annually among residents of the United States who have never left the country or hd had contact with a person with leprosy Most of these cases occur in the Gulf area It is believed that the disease may be carried by armadillos

45 Leprosy patients enjoying a day of fishing on Lake Johnson at the Carville Leprosarium in Louisiana

46 Unless you have made plans to the contrary, have a great day!