Diseases transmitted from Pet animals to Man
Dog
Dog is the most popular pet around the world be it smaller breeds like Poodle, Spitz, Bulldog or larger breeds like German Shepherd, Doberman, Labrador, Greyhound. A dog can be man’s best friend but the diseases it can transmit shouldn’t be ignored. The good news is that with proper vaccination, hygiene and routine deworming can prevent most of them.
List of diseases transmitted by your Pet dog:
1. Hyadatid Cyst : A disease caused by dog tapeworm – Echinococcus granulomatus transmitted through dogs faeces. It can infest liver, lungs, kidneys, brain and sometimes other parts of your body. Mostly, the treatment requires medical + surgical interventions and sometimes its unremovable.
2. Rabies– Your pet dog can get Rabid if bitten by wild animals. Rabies as you know is a deadly disease.
3. Scabies- A parasitic disease that is commonly transmitted by your pets. It is caused by mite- Sarcoptes scabeii.
4. Helminthic diseases- Roundworm, hookworm etc
5. Protozoal diseases- Giardiasis, Cryptosporidiosis etc
6. Spirochetal diseases-
- Leptospira-Weil’s disease, Weil’s syndrome, canicola fever, canefield fever, nanukayami fever, 7-day fever, Rat Catcher’s Yellows, Fort Bragg fever, and Pretibial fever.It is transmitted by the urine of an infected animal and is contagious as long as it is still moist. Although rats, mice and moles are important primary hosts, a wide range of other mammals including dogs, deer, rabbits, hedgehogs, cows, sheep, raccoons, possums, skunks, and certain marine mammals are able to carry and transmit the disease as secondary hosts.
- Lyme disease-The most common source of infected ticks are household dogs.
7. Fungal disease- Ringworm
8. Campylobacteriosis is a bacterial disease caused by Campylobacter jejuni, an organism that lives in the intestinal tract of many animals.
Cat
Cat is another popular pet among people.
Disease transmitted by cat are-
1. Toxoplasmosis- A caused by Toxoplasma gondii, a small single-celled protozoan. It can cause severe outcome in pregnancy and can be vertically transmitted to the child causing meningitis, chorioretinitis, skin lesions, muscle lesion etc.
2. Rabies
3. Cat-scratch fever-caused by Bartonella henselae, is commonly acquired from carrier cats.
4. Helminthic diseases- Roundworm, hookworm etc
5. Protozoal diseases- Giardiasis, Cryptosporidiosis etc
6. Ringworm, Scabies, Allergy- Asthma, skin allergic rashes.
Rabbit-
1. Tularemia- It is caused by Francisella tularensis carried by Rabbits.
2. Pastuerellosis.
Birds-
1. Histoplasmosis- causing Meninigitis in immunosuppressed and immunocompromised individuals. It is caused by capsulated fungi found in faeces of birds like pigeons.
2. Psittacosis- caused by Chlamydia psittaci that is found in airway of birds.
3. Bird Fancier’s Lung (BFL), also called bird-breeder’s lung and pigeon-breeder’s lung, is a subset of Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP),caused by the exposure to avian proteins present in the dry dust of the droppings and sometimes in the feathers of a variety of birds.
Fish-
1. Fish fanciers disease- Infection of the flexor tendon sheath and proximal interphalangeal joint by Mycobacterium marinum.Fish TB (MYCOBACTERIUM MARINUM), also called fish tuberculosis, fish tank granuloma, swimming pool granuloma.
2. ERYSIPELOTHRIX RHUSIOPATHIAE, also known as erythema migrans, fish-handler’s disease, fish poisoning, fish hand, sealer’s finger, whale finger, blubber finger, etc.
3. Mad fish disease – caused by Streptococcus iniae.Recently reported from handling tilapia. Infection via puncture wounds.Can cause fever, shaking, meningitis, arthritis, and skin/blood infections.
(The majority of the pet sea animals are safe, though).
