Zoonoses: Aerosol and Repiratory Transmission Flashcards
What bacteria are Category A agents and are considered bioweapons due to their aerosol potential?
Bacillus anthracis, Yersinia pestis, and Francisella tularensis.
What animals does Francisella tularensis affect?
Humans, domestic cats, sheep.
How do sheep get F. tularensis? How do cats get it? What about people?
Sheep - tick-borne. Cats: eating infected rodents. People -tick borne or through direct contact with animals/carcasses.
Where is Yersinia pestis found?
Anywhere in the world where there are European-origin rats.
What is the primary cycle of Yersinia pestis?
rodent-flea-rodent. This cycle exposes cats when they eat rodents.
How are humans exposed to Yersinia pestis?
via flea bite, aerosol from pneumonic plague cases, or directly from infected animal blood or abscesses.
What are some clinical signs of the plague in cats?
Fever, lethargy, anorexia, sepsis, lymphadenopathy in the cervical region.
Most veterinary cases of Bacillus anthracis are seen in what animal?
Cattle.
How does anthrax typicalyl present when it infects a host?
the spores enter the host, can cause a necrotic eschar at the skin entry point or cause atypical pneumonia if inhaled. The spores germinate, cause sepsis, and then there is massive edema, shock and death due to exotoxins. Death usually follows DIC.
What are post mortem signs of anthrax in cattle?
blood not clotted, spores in blood on microscopy, rapid bloating, lack of rigor mortis, blood from orifices.
Hantavirus has a reservoir in what animal?
Rodents. Can even infect pet rodents. They are usually asymptomatic.
How is Hantavirus primarily transmitted?
inhalation of the virus in urine or feces.
Can have secondary transmission via bite.
Which Hantavirus is considered the New World disease?
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. This is seen in the USA and is fatal in up to 40% of cases.
Which is more likely to have fatalities, the New World disease or the Old World disease?
New World. Old World can be fatal in up to 15% of cases, vs. the 40% in new world.
What are some fungal pulmonary infections that we are concerned with?
Blastomyces, coccidiodes, Histoplasma, and Cryptococcus.
T/F: Humans, dogs, cats, etc. infected with fungal pulmonary infections are infectious.
False. Their body temp is too high for sporulation.
What is the reservoir for Coccidioides immitis?
soil.
Where does C. immitis amplify?
people, dogs, cats, cattle, horses.
Where is Histoplasmosis found?
in soil or buildings with bird feces or bat guano
T/F: Histoplasmosis usually has severe symptoms.
false. 90% asymptomatic.
Blastomyces dermatitidis is found where?
Soil. associated with bird and bat feces
animal to human transmission of influenza is very common for the various strains.
False. Only reported in birds and swine.
T/F: Swine can get both human and avian strains of influenza.
True. H1N1 swine virus was the mixing of 2 swine viruses and also contained genes of avian and human origin.
Do you treat influenza with antivirals in animals?
No, due to fear of resistance. Tx is generally supportive.
If you think you’ve got a case of influenza, what should you do?
contact the state vet, especially if you think you’ve got avian influenza.
What causes Q-fever?
Coxiella burnetti
What is another name for q-fever?
abattoir fever
How is Q fever transmitted?
windborne in dust, exposure to parturient cats, shed in birth products, milk, lower shedding in feces and urine, tick borne (mainly animal to animal)
How do you control Q-fever?
immediately seek attention, segregate parturient animals and burn placentas and all other reproductive discharges, proper bio safety procedures, and vaccinate livestock.
Which form of Chlamidophilia psitacci is stable in the environment, the infectious elementary body, or the non-infectious reticulate body?
infectious elementary body
How do humans get Chlamidophilia?
direct handling of infected bird.
