The recent reports of human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus that’s been identified in China certainly raise the stakes. While this virus still seems to be less transmissible and less virulent than its relative, the SARS coronavirus, it’s pretty early to have a lot of confidence in that. Lessons seem to have been learned
A microbiome rant
I saw a TV commercial yesterday talking about a skin product and how it “protects your microbiome.” Microbiome is a big buzzword now, but do what do we really know?
A lot, and almost nothing.
The microbiome is the vast population of microorganisms (mainly bacteria) that live in a site like the intestinal tract, respiratory
Outbreak Report #2: Salmonella from geckos
This is a smaller outbreak than the puppy outbreak from the previous post, probably in large part because fewer people have contact with geckos, but… Contact with reptiles such as geckos has been a known risk factor for human salmonellosis for years. That’s a big part of the reason for recommending that high risk
Outbreak Report #1: Campylobacter from puppies
A couple of recent outbreak reports are interesting, though unsurprising, and they help raise awareness about some important issues. Here’s the first one.
The CDC recently released an update on the ongoing investigation into antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter infections from puppies. Contact with puppies (and kittens) has been shown to be a risk factor for people
One Health, antifungal resistance and the overlooked environment
“One Health” is getting a lot of talk (but still not enough action) these days. It deals with the intersection of human health, animal health and the environment. Unfortunately, all of these components don’t get treated equally, and the environment often gets ignored. There are a variety of reasons for that, which I won’t get
Oddball hookworm infection in a person
People sometimes get frustrated when I won’t say “absolutely, positively that cannot happen.” It’s not that I don’t understand or am afraid to make a decision, it’s biology. I can say something is “exceedingly unlikely to happen,” “not something I’d be concerned about” or
“there’s no evidence that’s a concern
Snakes, rodents and Salmonella… same story, different country
This is one of these “I’m not sure it’s really news” stories, but I guess is should be because it’s still a problem. We know there is a clear link between reptiles and Salmonella in people. Reptiles are common carriers of this bacterium, and human infections from handling reptiles or having contact with their environment
Backyard chicken survey
Calling all backyard poultry owners:
You are invited to participate in a survey regarding backyard chickens that is being conducted by Dr. Scott Weese, a Professor in the Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, and Public Health Ontario’s Infection Prevention and Control Team (Central-West). We are interested in hearing from people
Fake news and canine flu
ProMed Mail just reported on the return of canine flu to Ontario.
The problem is, it’s not true. (I guess that’s not a problem. It’s good that it’s not here.)
Today’s ProMed post on the subject references a news article (which appears to have been removed since) that just seems to be a direct copy
“Being licked by a dog can be fatal”
The headline’s true, but a bit sensational. However, it’s from a recent paper that has attracted a lot of attention: Being licked by a dog can be fatal: Capnocytophaga canimorsus sepsis with purpura fulminans in an immunocompetent man (Mader et al. 2019).
This recent fatal Capnocytophaga canimorsus infection in a German man has gotten