By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesDoug Powell, renowned for his food safety efforts and Barfblog, often uses the phrase "don’t eat poop" when it comes to food safety. I’ve stolen that line and I now use it a lot too when talking about zoonotic disease. However, over time, I’ve started to wonder whether the line always applies. I was giving… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesIn the latest edition of the American Animal Hospital Association’s Trends magazine, there’s an article about veterinary clinic design. The section dealing with exam rooms says: Discussion is ongoing about whether sinks are needed in the exam room now that hand sanitizers are available. I’m not sure who’s discussing this. Hand sanitizers are great and… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesIt’s perhaps a good sign for public health when I don’t tend to come home from a local fair and write a rant about the sorry state of the petting zoo. Around here, things seem to have improved at most events over the past few years, probably largely because of the efforts of local public… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Other diseasesAlthough the weather in Southwestern Ontario seems quite confused lately regarding whether it wants to be winter or spring, at least we’re still a few months off from having to worry about mosquitoes and the viruses they carry once again. Warmer parts of the world, however, are in the midst of their mosquito season, and… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesThe focus of this blog is companion animals, but sometimes I just can’t resist commenting on other areas, and this one’s too good to pass up. Today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, published by the CDC, describes Campylobacter jejuni infection in two men. Campylobacter is a zoonotic bacterium that causes diarrhea (and sometime severe complications) in… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesThe scope of research that’s being done these days is astounding. Somewhere, someone’s working on a project that will lead to a Nobel Prize in medicine. Other research will gather less critical acclaim but still have a big impact on science. Some research is more basic but can result in important preliminary information. And some… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesOne of the big doomsday scenarios of the past couple of decades has been an H5N1 avian influenza pandemic. Human infections with this virus have occurred in various parts of the world (mainly southeast Asia) and death rates are quite scarey (50% or higher). Fortunately, the virus does not transmit efficiently between people, so human… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesA Minnesota woman has died of Powassan virus encephalitis, a very rare neurological disease transmitted by ticks. Powassan virus is most often found in parts of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, but there is evidence of it in many other parts of North America as well, and as far away as Russia. Human infections are very… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesIn trying to keep up with technology, my lab has started adding a QR code to posters presented at research meetings. The code links to a page on the Worms & Germs Blog Resources page that houses a collection of research posters that people can view and download. You can also go directly to the… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesThis isn’t an infectious disease topic but I’ve had a few questions about it nonetheless, so I thought it would be worth making some comments here. With nuclear meltdown concerns in Japan, some pet owners (particularly on the west coast of the US) are flocking to veterinarians looking for potassium iodide pills for their pets. Potassium… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Other diseasesThe world is certainly getting "smaller," especially in terms of infectious diseases. One example is the renewed controversy this month over the existence of Lyme disease in Australia. A Sydney man was recently diagnosed with the disease following his death, and now a doctor from Laurieton claims to have "absolute proof" of at least two… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesInfection control is a constantly evolving and expanding area – for the good. Paying close attention to infection control in human hospitals is a relatively recent phenomenon, and the advances in infection control are now having an impact outside of hospitals. Pandemic H1N1 influenza drove a lot of changes, but there’s been a general increase… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesCanadian singer Alanis Morissette wrote a song called "Ironic" that (ironically) doesn’t really describe irony: Rain on your wedding day, a free ride when you already paid, a black fly in your Chardonnay… they all suck but they’re not ironic. What is ironic is Dr. Ed Breitschswerdt, an internationally renowned veterinary internist and tickborne disease… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Other diseasesNever a dull moment… This morning the Toronto Star published an article about the intended euthanasia of 350 animals at a humane society in Newmarket due to an ongoing ringworm outbreak. This was quickly followed by another article about the same event that gave a few more details, including some comments from the OSPCA chief… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesOn the way home from an MRSA symposium in the US the other day, I was (perhaps fittingly) listening to a podcast about new antibiotic development. The podcast, by The Lancet Infectious Diseases, discussed the small number of new antibiotics that are in the pipeline (about 15), particularly in contrast to the number of new anti-cancer drugs (about… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseases Click here for a link to a presentation by an architect about veterinary clinic design. This video clearly shows why people that are designing clinics need to be thinking about infection control (and that some are clearly not doing so). This person talks about the trend towards not placing sinks in exam rooms. This… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesJust as I’m getting ready to go on vacation (that will hopefully involve some time on the beach), I read an article in the latest edition of Emerging Infectious Diseases about seagulls and beaches as reservoirs of multidrug-resistant E. coli (Simoes et al 2010). In this study, the researchers collected seagull poop from beaches in… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesA very poorly-written and confusing report suggests that another Streptococcus zooepidemicus outbreak is underway in dogs in a shelter in Ohio. Five of 175 dogs on the premises died suddenly of hemorrhagic pneumonia. The report variably mentioned a "virus that mutated from horses," that it’s thought to be "not contagious" despite multiple dogs being affected,… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Other diseases,VaccinationAn article in an upcoming edition of Transplant Infectious Disease (Gisel et al) describes a case of Bordetella bronchiseptica pneumonia in a person who had received a kidney and pancreas transplant. This person had to board her dogs at a veterinary clinic while she was hospitalized for a bowel obstruction that occurred after surgery. The… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesH1N1 influenza was diagnosed in two dogs in China, bringing increased calls to pay attention to other animal species when it comes to this disease. I’m more surprised by this than finding H1N1 in a cat or ferret. Dogs are susceptible to influenza and have their own circulating influenza strain (H3N8, originally from horses) but… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Other diseasesLeprosy usually evokes images of deformed faces and hands and leper colonies. This disease, caused by Mycobacterium leprae, has been recognized for at least 4000 years, and is thought to have been one of the biblical plagues. While now treatable with proper access to healthcare, leprosy is still a problem in some regions. Feline leprosy… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Other diseasesCampylobacter bacteria are important causes of disease in people. Many Campylobacter species exist, and these different species vary quite a bit in their ability to cause disease in people and animals. Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most common causes of diarrhea in people worldwide, and is most commonly associated with contaminated food. However, a… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Other diseasesThe topic of the potential for feral (stray) animals, particularly cats, to be sources of human influenza infection came up today. For feral animals to be a public health problem, the following sequence has to happen: Feral animals need to be exposed to H1N1 This is pretty unlikely. Influenza is spread through close contact, mainly… Continue Reading
