I was at our local farm supply store the other day and saw a sign indicating they were out of chicken coops and trying to find more from different sources. I wonder if there’s a run on backyard chickens as people spend more time at home. There are some positive aspects to that – and
Backyard Chicken Salmonella Outbreak
COVID-19 derailed our plans for some backyard chicken work (e.g. research and education) this spring, but the emergence of COVID-19 doesn’t mean all other infectious disease issues have disappeared. Some problems will be reduced by the precautions put in place to control COVID-19, but other problems may actually get worse. Backyard chickens continue to be
The hunt for the SARS-CoV-2 intermediate host (and for better scientific publishing)
The hunt for the intermediate host for SARS-CoV-2 continues. It’s pretty universally accepted (the odd conspiracy theorist aside) that this virus, like SARS and MERS, originated in bats. How it made it to people is an important question we’d like to answer to help understand this virus and future risks.
Figuring that out is challenging
Antimicrobial resistance attributable to animal contact
Various times, I’ve asked audiences “What percentage of antimicrobial resistance in humans do you think it attributable to antimicrobial use in animals?”
- Answers pretty much range from 0-100%.
The actual number is probably on the low end of that range, but we really don’t know. It’s such a complex system that a simple
5 things to remember about zoonoses
A recent CDC expert commentary was recently published on “Animal Lovers and Zoonotic Diseases: 5 Things to Know“. Regular readers of Worms & Germs will find many of the points very familiar, but the article provides a nice summary of some of the recurring themes that arise when dealing with animals and people
Service, therapy and emotional support animal odds and ends, Part 1
I’ve written (ranted?) regularly about fake service dogs and disruptive emotional support animals. I’ve had the odd “you must hate animals” reply, but selfish people who slap a service dog vest on their pet so they can take it anywhere, just because they want to take it anywhere, cause problems for people who really need
Biohazardous backyard chickens
A recently published University of Guelph study evaluating pet poultry flocks found (unsurprisingly) high rates of shedding of certain concerning bacteria (Brochu et al, J Vet Diagn Invest 2019).
- Campylobacter, an important cause of gastrointestinal disease in people, was present in 36% of tested chickens. Salmonella was less common but present in
2018 Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses (CPHAZ) Annual Report
The University of Guelph’s Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses (CPHAZ) 2018 Annual Report has been released. Click here to access it: 2018 CPHAZ Annual Report
Bird bugs, horse abortions and sick vet students
When I talk about infection control (or infectious diseases, in general), I emphasize the need to avoid tunnel vision. Sometimes, we run into situations where someone says “that animal tested negative for [name your bug], so we don’t have anything to worry about.”
Well, no.
It means you (probably) don’t have to worry about that
Animal-associated deaths: United States
Quick question: what species do you think accounts for the most human deaths in the US?
A recent paper in Wilderness & Environmental Medicine (Forrester et al, 2017. An update on fatalities due to venomous and nonvenomous animals in the United States, (2008-2015)) explored this topic, using a CDC database to study deaths