Latest Zoonoses Stories
This year's tick season is predicted to be intense, and a single tick bite can transmit more than one illness. Now is the time to avoid contact with ticks and be aware of the symptoms of Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections. Lou Paradise, president and chief of research of Topicabl BioMedics, Inc., offers important information for coping with ticks and tick-borne diseases. Rhinebeck, NY (PRWEB) May 17, 2012 This year’s unusually mild winter and the early onset of warm...
FORT COLLINS, Colo., May 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Spring brings welcomed warmer weather when everyone wants to be outside. But, danger lurks in the form of unwelcome insects and ticks that can transmit a variety of diseases to humans. "Ticks can infect thousands of people with a number of serious, sometimes deadly, illnesses including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, and others," says Marc Dolan, senior research biologist at the Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of...
At least 14 people have fallen ill, including five who were hospitalized, as a result of salmonella-contaminated dog food, AFP and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Friday. According to the WSJ Staff, the dry dog-food products in question were produced by Diamond Pet Foods, who have issued a recall of the tainted products. The varieties affected by the recall are Diamond Naturals Lamb Meal & Rice Formula, Diamond Puppy Formula and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Adult...
WALL, N.J., May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- How do you fight a disease that the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reports has surpassed HIV in case numbers for 2009, that a National Institutes of Health-funded study concluded its impact on physical health was at least equal to the disability of patients with congestive heart failure, and that is caused by a bite from a dot-sized tick you can hardly see? The Lyme Disease Association's answer is: use digital messaging to...
RICHMOND, Va., May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For more than 250,000 Americans, the bite of a deer tick meant the start of a life changing disease. With record warm temperatures and the start of May's National Lyme Disease Awareness Month, Mosquito Squad (http://www.mosquitosquad.com) is on watch and has six tips to help homeowners tick-proof their yards. Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne illness in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control...
A bacterium historically associated with cat scratch fever and transmitted predominately by fleas may also play a role in human rheumatoid illnesses such as arthritis, according to new research from North Carolina State University. Bartonella is a bacterium that is maintained in nature by fleas, ticks and other biting insects. It can be transmitted to humans both by these parasites as well as by bites or scratches from infected cats and dogs. The most commonly known Bartonella-related...
Thousands of pre-school children in Africa could benefit from access to treatment for an endemic disease, after tests showed infants to be at high risk of infection. Researchers tested hundreds of children aged between one and five in countries in sub-Saharan Africa where snail fever – also known as bilharzia or schistosomiasis – is endemic. Currently, infants are not regularly tested for infection as they are perceived to be at low risk of exposure to the water-borne disease and not...
Cat owners should keep cats indoors, use tick preventatives to reduce chance of disease Lone Star ticks, which are notorious carriers of many diseases including cytauxzoonosis, or "bobcat fever," have been spreading across the nation in recent years. As a result, cats across much of the country are now exposed to the deadly disease. University of Missouri veterinarian Leah Cohn, a small animal disease expert, and Adam Birkenheuer from North Carolina State University, have found an...
MARYSVILLE, Ohio, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- This spring, welcoming temperatures throughout the country lured people outside sooner than usual, providing early-arriving, and hungry, ticks their first warm weather feast: you and your family. Ticks are small arachnids, which feed on the blood of mammals and birds. They carry diseases, such as Lyme disease, and thrive in warm, humid climates. Ticks pose a threat to anyone enjoying time outside--hiking in a wooded area, and even...
MIAMI, April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the responsibilities of being a pet owner is to guard our cats and dogs against heartworm disease. While many people treat their pets with monthly preventative prescriptions, few understand how preventative heartworm treatments actually work. In honor of National Heartworm Awareness Month, petMD.com provides the following five tips and safety measures for keeping pets heartworm free. (Logo:...
Latest Zoonoses Reference Libraries
The eye-worm (Loa loa) is a species of roundworm within the Nematoda phylum. It can be found in India and Africa, among other areas. This species causes a disease known as Loa loa filariasis and is one of three species that can cause subcutaneous filariasis in humans. Females are larger than males, reaching an average body length of up to 2.7 inches, with males reaching an average body length of up to 1.3 inches. The first stage of life for the eye-worm begins when an adult worm, which is...
The dog roundworm (Toxocara canis) is a species of parasitic worm that infects canid species. It is yellowish white in color and can reach an average length between 3.5 and 7 inches, with females typically growing large than males. The dog roundworm can be transmitted in four different ways. The most common form of transmission occurs when an egg containing second stage larvae is released onto the ground in feces. Once the egg has been ingested, it will move through the small intestines...
The White-footed Mouse, (Peromyscus leucopus), is a species of rodent native to North America. Its range extends from Ontario, Quebec, Labrador and the Maritime Provinces (excluding Newfoundland) south to the southwestern United States and Mexico. In Texas this creature is known as the Woodmouse. The adult of this species measures 3.5 to 3.9 inches in length, not counting the tail, which can measure an additional 2.5 to 3.8 inches. It weighs typically about an ounce. It has a maximum life...
Rickettsia rickettsii is a gram-negative bacterium native to the New World and causes the malady known as Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). It is transmitted through the bit of an infected tick when it feeds on animals and humans. Humans are not necessary hosts in the rickettsia-tick life cycle but they can be. S. Burt Wolbach created the first detailed description of the etiologic agent in 1919. He recognized it as an intracellular bacterium seen most frequently in endothelial cells....
West Nile virus (WNV) is a virus of the family Flaviviridae. It is part of the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of viruses and is found in both tropical and temperate regions. It primarily infects birds but can infect humans, horses, dogs, cats, bats, and other mammals. Humans are generally infected through the bites of mosquitoes and about 90% of West Nile Virus infections are without symptoms. The virion is 45-60 nm and covered with a relatively smooth protein surface. It is...
