A zoonosis or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen that has jumped from a non-human to a human. Typically, the first infected human transmits the infectious agent to at least one other human, who, in turn, infects others.
A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vets also play a role in animal reproduction, animal health management, conservation, husbandry and breeding and preventive medicine like animal nutrition, vaccination and parasitic control as well as biosecurity and zoonotic disease surveillance and prevention.
Psittacosis—also known as parrot fever, and ornithosis—is a zoonotic infectious disease in humans caused by a bacterium called Chlamydia psittaci and contracted from infected parrots, such as macaws, cockatiels, and budgerigars, and from pigeons, sparrows, ducks, hens, gulls and many other species of birds. The incidence of infection in canaries and finches is believed to be lower than in psittacine birds.
A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens of generations and become an aggressive local apex predator in urban, savannah and bushland environments. Some feral cats may become more comfortable with people who regularly feed them, but even with long-term attempts at socialization, they usually remain aloof and are most active after dusk.
Chlamydia psittaci is a lethal intracellular bacterial species that may cause endemic avian chlamydiosis, epizootic outbreaks in mammals, and respiratory psittacosis in humans. Potential hosts include feral birds and domesticated poultry, as well as cattle, pigs, sheep, and horses. C. psittaci is transmitted by inhalation, contact, or ingestion among birds and to mammals. Psittacosis in birds and in humans often starts with flu-like symptoms and becomes a life-threatening pneumonia. Many strains remain quiescent in birds until activated by stress. Birds are excellent, highly mobile vectors for the distribution of chlamydia infection, because they feed on, and have access to, the detritus of infected animals of all sorts.
A dog bite is a bite upon a person or other animal by a dog, including from a rabid dog. More than one successive bite is often called a dog attack, although dog attacks can include knock-downs and scratches. Though some dog bites do not result in injury, they can result in infection, disfigurement, temporary or permanent disability, or death. Another type of dog bite is the "soft bite" displayed by well-trained dogs, by puppies, and in non-aggressive play. Dog bites can occur during dog fighting, as a response to mistreatment, trained dogs working as guard, police or military animals, or during a random encounter.
Chlamydophila is a controversial bacterial genus belonging to the family Chlamydiaceae.
Chlamydia abortus is a species in Chlamydiota that causes abortion and fetal death in mammals, including humans. Chlamydia abortus was renamed in 1999 as Chlamydophila psittaci along with all Chlamydiota except Chlamydia trachomatis. This was based on a lack of evident glycogen production and on resistance to the antibiotic sulfadiazine. In 1999 C. psittaci and C. abortus were recognized as distinct species based on differences of pathogenicity and DNA–DNA hybridization. In 2015, this new name was reverted to Chlamydia.
Chlamydia felis is a Gram-negative, obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that infects cats. It is endemic among domestic cats worldwide, primarily causing inflammation of feline conjunctiva, rhinitis and respiratory problems. C. felis can be recovered from the stomach and reproductive tract. Zoonotic infection of humans with C. felis has been reported. Strains FP Pring and FP Cello have an extrachromosomal plasmid, whereas the FP Baker strain does not. FP Cello produces lethal disease in mice, whereas the FP Baker does not. An attenuated FP Baker strain, and an attenuated 905 strain, are used as live vaccines for cats.
Vaccination of dogs is the practice of animal vaccination applied to dogs. Programs in this field have contributed both to the health of dogs and to the public health. In countries where routine rabies vaccination of dogs is practiced, for example, rabies in humans is reduced to a very rare event.
The health of domestic cats is a well studied area in veterinary medicine.
The rabies vaccine is a vaccine used to prevent rabies. There are a number of rabies vaccines available that are both safe and effective. They can be used to prevent rabies before, and, for a period of time, after exposure to the rabies virus, which is commonly caused by a dog bite or a bat bite.
Almost all human deaths caused by rabies occur in Asia and Africa. There are an estimated 59,000 human deaths annually from rabies worldwide.
Rabies is a viral zoonotic neuroinvasive disease which causes inflammation in the brain and is usually fatal. Rabies, caused by the rabies virus, primarily infects mammals. In the laboratory it has been found that birds can be infected, as well as cell cultures from birds, reptiles and insects. The brains of animals with rabies deteriorate. As a result, they tend to behave bizarrely and often aggressively, increasing the chances that they will bite another animal or a person and transmit the disease. Most cases of humans contracting the disease from infected animals are in developing nations. In 2010, an estimated 26,000 people died from rabies, down from 54,000 in 1990.
The Companion Animal Parasite Council is a non-profit organization (501c3) composed of practicing veterinarians, academic veterinary parasitologists, veterinary technicians, state public health veterinarians, and staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who are dedicated to reducing the numbers of parasites in dogs and cats along with reducing the risk of transmitting these parasites and diseases to humans.
One Health is an approach calling for "the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally, to attain optimal health for people, animals and our environment", as defined by the One Health Initiative Task Force (OHITF). It developed in response to evidence of the spreading of zoonotic diseases between species and increasing awareness of "the interdependence of human and animal health and ecological change". In this viewpoint, public health is no longer seen in purely human terms.
In the United States, there are environmental and occupational health hazards in zoological parks. The risks associated with working with and caring for the animals, include visitor employee safety. There are numerous safeguards in place to prevent injury, disease, and death.
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), founded in 1876, provides leadership on national veterinary issues, advocates for animal welfare, and works to encourage life balance in veterinary professionals.
A feline zoonosis is a viral, bacterial, fungal, protozoan, nematode or arthropod infection that can be transmitted to humans from the domesticated cat, Felis catus. Some of these diseases are reemerging and newly emerging infections or infestations caused by zoonotic pathogens transmitted by cats. In some instances, the cat can display symptoms of infection and sometimes the cat remains asymptomatic. There can be serious illnesses and clinical manifestations in people who become infected. This is dependent on the immune status and age of the person. Those who live in close association with cats are more prone to these infections. But those that do not keep cats as pets are also able to acquire these infections because of the transmission can be from cat feces and the parasites that leave their bodies.
Animal vaccination is the immunisation of a domestic, livestock or wild animal. The practice is connected to veterinary medicine. The first animal vaccine invented was for chicken cholera in 1879 by Louis Pasteur. The production of such vaccines encounter issues in relation to the economic difficulties of individuals, the government and companies. Regulation of animal vaccinations is less compared to the regulations of human vaccinations. Vaccines are categorised into conventional and next generation vaccines. Animal vaccines have been found to be the most cost effective and sustainable methods of controlling infectious veterinary diseases. In 2017, the veterinary vaccine industry was valued at US$7 billion and it is predicted to reach US$9 billion in 2024.
