By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animalsI don’t know whether it’s because a) there are more rabid beavers these days, b) rabid beavers have always been around in these numbers but they have recently acquired a taste for human flesh, or c) it’s just a fluke, but another rabid beaver was recently reported in the US. The latest incident involved a beaver… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsIf you ask people about tapeworms, they typically think about the "ick" factor of having a large worm in their gut, but they probably don’t get too concerned. However, some types of tapeworm infection can be serious health problems in humans and animals. One of the worst is infection by the tapeworm species Echinococcus multilocularis.… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animalsThe latest edition of Emerging Infectious Diseases has an article describing a Salmonella outbreak in New South Wales, Australia, that was linked to playground sand (Staff et al, 2012). The outbreak stretched over a long period of time, from 2007-2009, and involved a strain of Salmonella called Salmonella Java. During the course of the investigation,… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in CatsPlague cases tend to get a lot of press. The fact that this disease killed a large percentage of the human population in a few different pandemics (albeit centuries ago for the most part) probably plays a role in that. Despite the impression by some that it’s just a historical disease, plague is alive and… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsThere have been various news reports from different parts of North America describing distemper outbreak in raccoons. Distemper is a viral infection caused by canine distemper virus, which is related to the human measles virus (but the canine version can’t infect people). A variety of animal species in addition to dogs can get distemper, most… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in CatsProMed’s latest accumulation of rabies reports has the typical mix of domestic animal and wildlife rabies cases, and some recurring themes. Fox / dog / human, North Carolina In this case, a rabid fox had a "direct encounter" with several people, then it was killed by a dog. Three people have started post-exposure treatment. The… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsMax, a 12-year-old Chihuahua from Greenfield, New Jersey, was euthanized recently after he was exposed to rabies. While far from unusual, the case highlights the ongoing risk of rabies exposure as well as issues with understanding of rabies guidelines and communication. Max was attacked by a rabid raccoon – an ever-present risk for animals that… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsThe Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Welland SPCA are warning people about an apparently large number of cases of distemper in raccoons in the area. Distemper is a pretty nasty disease which can be spread between dogs and wildlife. It’s caused by canine distemper virus, but the "canine" part of the name can be… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsThe Redlands Animal Shelter in California is looking into bird control measures after blaming Giardia infections in dogs on exposure to wild bird poop. On Facebook, Redlands Friends of Shelter Animals have declared "We have a serious problem with birds at the shelter. They land on the kennels and poop goes into the water bowls… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsThere have been a few large outbreaks of dead birds around Ontario lately, with botulism being the main suspect. In one area alone, up to 6000 dead birds have washed up on Georgian Bay beaches. While dramatic, it’s not a rare situation at this time of year, and typically relates to birds ingesting fish that… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animalsHere’s a recent question I received: "My problem is that the raccoon broke a window, came into my house, ate the cat food and then defecated on the kitchen floor. Since they went a day without food, the cats may have eaten the few bits of food that were left behind. How can I tell… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in HorsesAs Australia faces a particularly bad year for Hendra virus, with possible expansion of the range of this serious disease, there have been calls for a mass cull of flying foxes (fruit bats). These bats are the reservoir of the virus but also a protected species. The virus lives in the bats and is spread… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in BirdsLike any animal, disease outbreaks can occur in wild birds. Unless they are large outbreaks they often go unnoticed, but smaller outbreaks can sometimes be encountered by homeowners with bird feeders. Because bird feeders are mixing sites for birds, they are also sites of disease transmission and a place where deaths can be identified. In… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animalsRaccoons are fascinating critters but they don’t make good pets. Their curiosity makes them quite disruptive and damaging, and they have seriously injured people (particularly infants). They are also rabies vectors, and in many regions raccoon ownership (along with other wildlife species) is illegal (or only legal with a license). Despite all this, some people… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsThe CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports has a short report about two plague cases in the US. Plague, while often thought of as a historical disease (the Black Death), is alive and well in wild rodents in some areas of the world, including parts of North America, and human cases continue to occur. Here… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in CatsIn Canada, rabies testing and surveillance is performed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). National data for 2010 are now available and indicate there were a small number of cases in domestic animals, with more in wildlife, for a total of 123 cases. Dogs: There were three cases, all in Saskatchewan. Cats: Four cases,… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animalsWhen it comes to handling microorganisms, there are 4 biosafety levels. Biosafety level 1 (BSL-1) organisms are harmless. BSL-2 organisms include most of the commonly encountered bugs, including things like E. coli, Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus. They can cause serious disease but infections are often treatable and they can be handled safely with standard lab… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animalsA dead otter was found floating in a pond in Florida near the site of a recent otter attack that was captured on video. Testing confirmed that the animal was rabid. It’s impossible to determine whether this is the same otter that attacked the teenager in Boca Raton last week, but it’s likely, and shows… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animalsA nine-month old Georgia (US) baby is in critical condition after being attacked by two raccoons while sleeping in her crib. The attack occurred in the middle of the night, and the baby ended up with severe bites over her head and other parts of her body. It’s not clear at this point whether these were… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in CatsProMed’s monthly rabies update contains some recurring themes: A couple of incidents of dog versus rabid raccoon. The dog usually comes out on top, but the raccoon can exact revenge at the end of the day through the need for quarantine or euthanasia. If the dog is not vaccinated, a long quarantine or euthanasia is… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs2009 animal rabies statistics have recently been published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (Blanton et al 2010). Here are some highlights: 6690 rabid animals were identified, along with four human cases. (One of those human cases was associated with travel to India, as described as described in a recent post). Rabid… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animalsIn response to a case of plague in prairie dogs in Saskatchewan’s Grasslands National Park, park officials are dusting prairie dog burrows with insecticide to try to control fleas. A single case of plague, a serious bacterial infection caused by Yersinia pestis, was identified in a prairie dog in the park earlier this summer. Plague is… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animalsA Rosedale, California high school has welcomed a new pet into the classroom: a squirrel. CJ Addington, a physics teacher, caught a baby squirrel that some students spotted outside the school. I have some (just a few) issues with this: In most areas, catching and keeping wildlife is illegal, for good reason. A baby squirrel wandering… Continue Reading
