Disease |
Causative Organism |
Principal Animals Involved |
Known Distribution |
Probable Means of Spread to Man |
|
BACTERIAL DISEASES |
| Anthrax |
Bacillus anthracis |
Warm-blooded animals |
Worldwide |
Human infections usually through the skin; may be inhaled or ingested. Spores in soil or animal products are resistant. |
| Brucellosis |
Brucella abortus
B melitensis
B suis
B canis |
Cattle
Goats, sheep
Pigs, caribou
Dogs |
Worldwide |
Direct contact with excretions or secretions, including milk of infected animals. |
| Campylobacteriosis |
Campylobacter spp |
Many animals |
Worldwide
Incidence appears to be increasing |
Most species or subspeicies appear to be reasonably host-specific but cross-infection is possible, usually via fecal contamination of food. |
| Cat Scratch Fever |
Unidentified bacillus |
Cats, dogs, others
(little or no effect other than in man) |
Northern Hemisphere
Common |
Scratches, "licks", bites. |
| DF-2 Infection |
Dysgonic Fermenter (DF-2) |
Dogs, other mammals |
USA |
Unknown, but dogs and their bites are suspect. |
| Leptospirosis |
Leptospira spp (many serovars) |
Domestic and wild animals, especially rodents |
Worldwide |
In man, by direct contact with an infected animalÂ’s urine or tissue (or aborted fetus), or from contaminated soil or water. |
| Listeriosis |
Listeria monocytogenes |
Numerous animals and birds |
Worldwide |
Food-borne among domestic animals; routes of infection in man not well defined. |
| Lyme Disease (Borreliosis) |
Borrelia burgdorferi |
Deer, dogs, horses, rodents, raccoons, opossums |
USA (endemic in NE), Europe, Australia |
Tick bite, and possibly urine and tissues. |
| Plague |
Yersinia pestis |
Rodents, cats, dogs, others |
Western USA, Central and South America, SE Asia, Southern Africa |
Fleas, contact with infected animals, inhalation. |
| Psittacosis (Ornithosis) |
Chlamydia psittaci |
Parakeets, pigeons, parrots, turkeys, ducks, geese, etc. |
Worldwide |
Usually by inhaling dust from feces or feathers. Other isolates from cattle, sheep, goats, opossums, etc., rarely cause disease in man. However, pregnant women are at risk around aborting sheep. |
| Salmonellosis |
Salmonella spp (2000 serotypes) |
Poultry, pigs, cattle, horses, dogs, cats, wild mammals and birds, reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans |
Worldwide |
Usually via ingestion of undercooked food contaminated with feces; handling diseased animals. |
| Tularemia |
Francisella tularensis |
Rabbits, dogs, cats, rodents, sheep |
Circumpolar in Northern Hemisphere |
Ingestion, exposure to infected animals (e.g., skinning rabbits), arthropod bites. |
| Yersiniosis |
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
Y enterocolitica |
Animals and birds |
Northern Hemisphere |
Contaminated food or water. |
|
FUNGAL DISEASES
Many fungal diseases occur in man and other animals, but most are uncommon to rare, and most are the result of environmental exposure rather than of cross-species contagion. Ringworm is a "true zoonosis". |
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| Ringworm |
Microsporum spp
Trichophyton spp |
Many mammals, also birds |
Worldwide |
Direct contact with infected animals and fomites. |
|
PARASITIC DISEASES
Protozoan Diseases
Several genera of protozoans may infect man and other animals, but risk of human infection from contact with other animals is low. Most such infections are acquired by ingestion of material contaminated with human feces; some are transmitted by biting insects. Those listed below are more common or could be considered "true zoonoses". |
| ChagasÂ’ disease |
Trypanosoma cruzi |
Dogs, cats, pigs, armadillos, other mammals |
Western Hemisphere, southern USA to central Argentina |
Fecal material of tiratoma bug (Reduviidae) into bite wounds, blood transfusion. |
| Toxoplasmosis |
Toxoplasma gondii |
Mammals, especially cats, birds |
Worldwide |
Ingestion of oocysts shed in feces of infected cats, and meat that contains cysts. |
|
Trematode (Fluke) Infections
Man shares several fluke infections with other animals. Some of these may be acquired by eating raw or undercooked fish, crustaceans, or contaminated plants. Others are acquired if the skin is exposed to water that contains infective cercariae. |
|
Cestode (Tapeworm) Infections
Man shares several tapeworm infections with other host species. Infection with the adults is undesirable but of much less significance than is infection with the larval stages (via ingestion of worm eggs). |
| Echinococcosis, Hydatid disease |
Echinococcus granulosus |
Dogs, wild carnivores, sheep, cattle |
Worldwide |
Ingestion of eggs shed in feces of carnivores. |
| Fish tapeworm |
Diphyllobothrium spp |
Dogs, fish-eating animals |
Worldwide |
Ingestion of raw or partially cooked infected fish. |
| Sparganosis |
Spirometra spp |
Dogs, cats, raccoons, amphibians |
Worldwide |
Direct contact or ingestion of raw tissues of crustaceans (Cyclops spp); ingestion of undercooked feral pigs; use of infected frog or snake meat as wound dressing. |
|
Nematode (Roundworm) Infections
Some of these diseases occur in man and other animals, although most are reasonably host-specific. Rarely, people may become infected with parasites of other host species through insect bites, ingestion of infected tissue, or contact with infective larvae. The following are of considerable importance. |
| Cutaneous larva migrans |
Ancylostoma brasiliense
A caninum |
Dogs, cats |
Worldwide |
Skin penetration by infective larvae. |
| Visceral larva migrans |
Toxocara canis
T cati |
Dogs, cats |
Worldwide |
Ingestion of eggs shed in feces of dogs, cats. |
|
DISEASES CAUSED OR BORNE BY ARTHROPODS
It is not uncommon for persons handling animals infested with mites (usually Sarcoptes spp) or fleas (e.g., from dogs or cats) to become infested, although usually the infestation on the abnormal host is short-lived. This can, however, lead to significant discomfort, or, on occasion, to transmission of other diseases, e.g., plague. Various ticks infest man as well as other animals, and the consequences may be serious. Some ticks cause paralysis of their hosts (including man) via envenomization. The greatest dangers lie not in the arthropod infestation itself, but in the diseases for which the arthropods may serve as vectors. Several encephalitides, hemorrhagic fevers, rickettsioses, and protozoal blood parasitoses are transmitted by arthropods. Arthropod-borne bacterial diseases include Lyme disease, plague, and tularemia. |