About Zoonoses

QUESTION: With all the types of colds you mention in your column, you have
still to mention one we heard about the other day. Its called Zoo Noses and
it's caused by animals. Perhaps this is something you would like to warn your
readers about.
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ANSWER: Close, but no blue ribbon! Zoonoses have nothing to do with either
noses or colds, but is the name given to those diseases that are transmitted
from animals to man under normal conditions. There are over 150 such diseases
identified worldwide, and as many as 40 may pose health threats to farmers and
other workers who come in contact with animals on a regular basis in the
United States. Probably the one you know best is rabies, caused by a virus
which may be present in dogs, and squirrels, skunks, foxes and other wild
animals as well. It causes muscle spasms, fever, swollen glands and
hydrophobia. It is passed on in the saliva of the infected animal when a
victim is bitten. Another well known disease in this classification is
anthrax or "woolsorter's disease". It is caused by a bacteria found in cows,
goats, horses and pigs, and can be transmitted by contact on the skin or
inhaling spores. It may attack the skin, lungs or gastrointestinal tract of
its victims. Perhaps you have heard of Statehouses (ornithosis) as a disease
of parrots and parakeets, but it may also be carried by ordinary farm fowl,
such as chickens, ducks and turkeys. Its transmitted by skin touch or
breathing and produces a pneumonia with fever, headache, and cough. To
complete, if only partially, this list of diseases originating in animals is
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme Disease. They are spread by the bites
of infected ticks which may live on rabbits, field mice, dogs and deer,
producing fevers, rashes, arthritis like symptoms and headache. This is an
important classification of infectious diseases, but one that is seldom
written about, except here for you.