Recent reports of a woman in Texas that "contracted rabies" are great examples of less-than-careful reporting. The headlines look dramatic, and a couple of articles state that a woman bitten by a puppy "contracted rabies", but it’s far from the truth.
Here’s the real story, as far as I can tell:
A 62-yr-old Italian woman has died from psittacosis, an infection caused by the bacterium Chlamydophila psittaci. Sometimes called "parrot fever," psittacosis is an uncommon but important disease linked to contact with birds, particularly psittacines (e.g. parrots, parakeets, cockatiels). In people, C. psittaci usually causes flu-like respiratory disease, but severe pneumonia and encephalitis (inflammation
Among the various things I’ve been called in response to blog posts is "anti-reptile." Actually, I like reptiles. I’ve owned and treated them, and think many of them are quite fascinating species. They can be reasonable pets in certain situations. The main problem is that they have high rates of Salmonella carriage and are the
A recently reported outbreak affecting horses in Bahrain has been diagnosed as glanders, a very serious bacterial infection caused by the highly contagious bacterium Burkholderia mallei. So far, it has been reported that 8 horses were euthanized over the past 3 weeks because of the infection.
Bahrain’s cabinet has allocated BD150 000 to fight
A large percentage of advice calls that I get about methicillin-resistant staph infections in dogs are regarding skin infections. Skin infections (pyoderma) are a common problem, a leading cause of antibiotic use in dogs, and an often frustrating problem for vets and pet owners alike. One problem is that, unlike many other types of infections, skin
A recent question:
"I have two rabbits who just tested positive for E. cuniiculi… Can you please tell me how to disinfect my floors and kill the parasites? I don’t think bleach is doing it."
Encephalitozoon cuniculi is a strange little bug. It a member of a unique group of organisms called microsporidia. Originally thought
The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning to pet owners to avoid feeding their pets bones. I’m a little surprised the FDA would bother with this topic but I agree with the information. FDA veterinarian Carmela Stamper, states "Bones are unsafe no matter what their size. Giving your dog a
A couple of recent news reports highlight potential issues surrounding good Samaritins helping injured animals:
The May 2010 edition of Emerging Infectious Diseases contains a report about an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Scotland (McGuigan et al. 2010). Cryptosporidiosis is a common parasitic disease caused by Cryptosporidium, a protozoal parasite. It causes diarrhea, which is usually annoying (to say the least) but self-limiting in healthy people, but the infection
Argentinian soccer star Diego Maradona has had quite a life, including the famous/infamous "hand of God" goal, drug addiction, gastric bypass surgery and a tumultuous coaching career. You can now add "beaten up by a small dog" to that list. Maradona was discharged from a Buenos Aires clinic a couple weeks ago after undergoing
