Worms & Germs Blog is an educational website coordinated by Drs. Scott Weese and Maureen Anderson of the Ontario Veterinary College‘s Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses. The site was initial set up with the help of funding from City of Hamilton Public Health.

Dr. Weese is a veterinary internist, a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He is a Professor at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Director of the University of Guelph Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses, Chief of Infection Control at the Ontario Veterinary College Health Sciences Centre, and is a member of numerous national and international committees dealing with infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance, including the Quadripartite (WHO, WOAH, FAO, UNEP) Global Leaders Group on AMR.

This site focuses on infectious diseases of companion animals (household pets and horses), with an emphasis on zoonotic diseases – diseases that can be transmitted from animals to people. In reality, we take a broader approach, considering diseases that can be spread from animals to people AND from people to animals.

Zoonotic diseases have been recognized for centuries but we’ve often neglected to consider the role of companion animals, the animals most people have the closest contact with. That’s why we’ve created this blog, and the associated Worms & Germs Resources page. There, you’ll find information sheets about safe pet ownership and zoonotic disease topics. The sheets are reviewed by professionals from the veterinary, medical and public health fields to provide the most up-to-date information possible. Information sheets are added as needed and as time allows, so keep checking back for more!

While initially designed as a zoonotic diseases site, Worms & Germs has broadened its scope over the years, and there is now information available on the site about many other infectious disease topics that have an impact on the public, including diseases transmitted by urban wildlife, exotic pet ownership, emerging diseases in companion animals such as canine influenza and many more. Many of our topics come from questions we receive from the public, as well as veterinarians and public health professionals.