By Scott Weese on Posted in BirdsWhy is it that zoonotic disease case reports in the scientific literature sometimes get titles that are…well, let’s just say “creative.” A recent example of a strange headline for an interesting case report is “The Brief Case: A Fishy Tale Prevents Digital Doom following Polly’s Peck—the Importance of Pets in a Comprehensive Medical History” published in… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animalsA California teen has been battling a chronic and severe infection acquired from a fish tank. Five years ago, Hannele Cox cut her hand when she pulled it out of an aquarium. It sounds like it was a pretty minor scratch, but it doesn’t take much to cause an infection under the right circumstances. A… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animalsA letter in Emerging Infectious Diseases (Ludwig et al 2011) describes an uncommon Mycobacterium infection in a pet ferret, with potential human health concerns. The three-year-old ferret from Germany was taken to a veterinarian with a five-month history of coughing, recent weight loss, vomiting and mild diarrhea. A chest radiograph was taken and "nodular densities"… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesI recently wrote about Mycobacterium bovis, the cause of bovine TB and a pathogen that can be transmitted to people and rarely to pets. A reader made the following comment: "Having come across your very interesting blog, I was questioning/wondering whether your statement regarding Mycobacterium bovis, "whose main natural reservoir is cattle", is in fact… Continue Reading
