By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesA few times a year I get questions about tuberculosis (TB) in dogs, typically after a person is diagnosed with active TB and people want to know what the risks are to, and from, their dog. It’s often tough to answer those questions, because there’s limited information available. Risks exist, but how much of a… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesEvery year or so, there’s a new wave of publicity/paranoia about the risks associated with dogs licking people. Often, it follows a study of bacteria that can be found in the mouths of dogs. It leads to a combination of balanced reports, sensational reports and defensive responses. What is the concern? Dog’s mouths are vats… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesHot off the presses in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) is a guidance document aimed at reducing infectious disease risks in a variety of canine group settings. The paper, Risk reduction and management strategies to prevent transmission of infectious disease among dogs at dog shows, sporting events, and other canine group settings (Stull et al,… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Horses,Other diseasesArboviruses (ARthropod-BOrne viruses) are viruses that are spread by insects, often mosquitoes. As I’ve written about recently, mosquito biology and differences in reservoir species mean that mosquito-borne viruses can have quite different patterns of distribution and spread. As is common, the occurrence of West Nile virus infection in horses tends to ramp up in late… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesHere is the answer key for Crossword #2 that was posted last week. To download a pdf version of the answer key, click here.… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Miscellaneous,Other diseasesBack by popular demand, here’s another zoonoses crossword puzzle. This one’s a bit tougher than the last one. To download a pdf version of the crossword, click here. Answers will be posted next week.… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Horses,Other diseases,Vaccination‘Tis the season for mosquitoes, so ‘tis the season for some nasty vector-borne diseases. Few are worse that Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), a viral infection that causes typically fatal disease in horses, and less commonly other species, including people. Cases tend to start mid-summer and peak late summer to fall, depending on the mosquito dynamics… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animals,Other diseasesRecent identification of mcr-1, a gene that makes bacteria resistant to colistin (an antibiotic of last resort) raised a lot of concern. Now, there’s another one to be worried about, as a related gene, mcr-2 has been identified (Xavier et al, Eurosurveillance, July 2016). In this study, 105 colistin-resistant E. coli from calves and piglets… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Birds,Cats,Dogs,Horses,Other animals,Other diseases,Pocket pets,ReptilesPredicting the future is a dodgy proposition at the best of times. It’s particularly hard with infectious diseases, which tend not to behave as expected. Yet, it’s important to plan surveillance, education and response. One approach is to assess where certain types of problems are more likely to develop. That can help direct resources (time,… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Other diseasesPublic Health England has launched an investigation following identification of leptospirosis in an animal shelter volunteer. Leptospirosis is caused by the bacterium Leptospira, a bug that can be found in a variety of animal species. It’s shed in urine and loves to survive in cool, moist environments, so people and domestic animals are often exposed… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesOk, call me risk averse, but traveling to another country to have someone inject me with cells from organs or fetuses of animals isn’t high on my to-do list. I guess that’s a good thing, given the recent article in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report describing Q-fever in people from New York who traveled to Germany for… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Other animals,Other diseasesA new study from the University of California, Berkeley, has shown a potential link between bovine leukemia virus (BLV) and breast cancer in women (Buehring et al. 2015). The short version is the study analyzed breast tissue from 239 women, and found evidence of BLV exposure in 59% of the samples from women with breast… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Birds,Other diseasesPoultry biosecurity is an important practice to limit the spread of disease. There are many viruses, bacteria and parasites that exist that can cause disease in birds. These can spread by direct bird contact or indirect contact with humans, housing and equipment. Some of these pathogens can be zoonotic and pose a human health risk. Pathogens… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesI did a consultation today about a dog that illustrates some of the practical challenges to reducing antibiotic use. It was an older dog with a test result that could be consistent with an infectious disease, but one that is also common in healthy animals. The signs of illness that the dog had would have… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Other diseasesI like to write about interesting papers that appear in the medical literature. A problem with that is that it’s often weird cases that get published. So, it’s important to keep things in perspective. Regardless, reports of rare things still provide some insight, as long as people don’t over-react (which, unfortunately, is often the case).… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesThe White House has released a "National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria". This follows on the heels of "Executive Order 13676: Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria" which was issued by President Barack Obama on September 18, 2014, along with the "National Strategy for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria" presented by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Other diseasesLast week the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced that a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), more commonly known as Mad Cow Disease, was found in an Alberta beef cow. BSE belongs to a group of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) that are not caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites, but rather… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Other diseasesThe latest Worms & Germs infosheet, all about Lyme disease and ticks, is now available on the Resources – Pets page. Although it’s getting colder and occasionally snowy up in Ontario, there are lots of parts of North America where ticks are active all year round. It’s particularly important for any "snowbirds" who may travel… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesAwareness is good. Being proactive is wise. Being paranoid? That’s another story. As this unprecedented Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa continues to expand, many people in North America have journeyed from ignoring it, to considering it a disease that you only get if you’re in Africa, to thinking they need for move to some… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Other diseasesOrange County CA is currently experiencing a major outbreak of West Nile infection in people. Since January 94 cases have been confirmed, three of which were fatal, representing nearly a quarter of the 400 cases reported across the country so far this year. The number of cases of infection with a mosquito-borne virus like West… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesIt was only a matter of time, so it’s not particularly surprising, but a potentially devastating pig disease has made its way into Ontario. It’s not a concern to people or other animals, but it’s worth mentioning here anyway (both to say it’s not a public health or non-pig health concern, and since it’s a… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other diseasesLast week, I mentioned the antibiotic use plenary session at the ASM-ESCMID conference on methicillin-resistant staphylococci in animals. The session was designed to discuss the use of "critically important antibiotics" in companion animals – drugs like carbapenems (imipenem, meropenem) and vancomycin, which are used for treating serious multidrug-resistant infections in people as well. After the… Continue Reading
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
