People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is battling Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus because of Karen, an elephant with tuberculosis (TB). The animal rights group is claiming that the elephant poses a public health risk because she has TB, and it appears that their appeal had initially convinced
Zoo flu
The pandemic H1N1 influenza virus continues to circulate, although the hype has certainly died down. During the original 2009 pandemic, there were a few reports of infection of domestic animals, particularly ferrets and cats. This wasn’t particularly surprising since we know these species are susceptible to human influenza viruses, and with so many people infected
Anyone seen a cobra?
The Bronx Zoo has closed it’s reptile house following the disappearance of an Egyptian cobra. Officials noticed the 20-inch-long snake was missing on Saturday, and they are presumably carrying out a diligent and very careful search.
There’s probably no risk to the public (as long as the snake wasn’t stolen). It’s likely curled up
Elephant-human transmission of tuberculosis
You can probably tell from various posts that I’m a fan of the CDC’s journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. It’s a great journal containing interesting infectious disease reports about people and animals (it’s free too, which is a nice bonus). In addition to the ferret infection I wrote about, the last edition also has a
Tigers in the bedroom
A recent article in Emerging Infectious Diseases discussed infectious disease risks associated with having pets in the bedroom. It raised awareness about pets and zoonotic diseases, although some of the coverage was a bit over the top. There are risks, but for most people and most pets, the risks are quite low. Some things
Lions and tigers and glanders
Glanders, a very serious disease of horses, donkeys and mules caused by infection with the bacterium Burkholderia mallei, has made the news again in a rather unusual manner – it has been reported as the cause of an outbreak in lions and a tiger at an Iranian zoo in Tehran.
The story goes
Tiger attack in Wisconsin
A Wisconsin man is recovering after being attacked by a seven-year-old Siberian tiger at The Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue & Educational Center. The victim is a volunteer at the centre, and he was attacked while giving the tiger some water. He was airlifted to hospital but his injuries are described as minor.
As is
Salmonella outbreak claims 3rd tiger
A Salmonella outbreak at the Bannerghatta Biological Park in Bangalore, India, has resulted in the death of three tigers. The latest victim, a four-year-old female tiger named Minchu, had been critically ill for the past two weeks and died of kidney failure. (Kidney failure is a potential complication of severe intestinal bacterial infections like
Lambing season and Q fever
I have a small flock of Soay sheep and lambing season started today (too early, but better than the -30C weather from a few days ago). For someone like me, lambing season inevitably triggers thoughts about Q fever, a zoonotic disease that is most commonly associated with contact with small ruminants like sheep and
E. coli O157 outbreak tentatively linked to livestock show
An outbreak of E. coli O157 – the particularly nasty strain of E. coli that can cause hemolytic uremia (a serious kidney disease) and death – has been identified in Colorado, and signs are pointing toward a livestock show as the source. So far, 20 people have been identified as infected, including 19 children.