SOME BRIEF INFORMATION ABOUT THE ZOONOTIC INFECTIONS.

1. ZOONOTIC INFECTIONS
By : Drishti and Shabana

2. DEFINITION
• A zoonotic disease is a disease that can be passed between animals and humans.
Zoonotic diseases can be caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi. These
diseases are very common. Scientists estimate that more than 6 out of every 10
infectious diseases in humans are spread from animals.
Zoonoses (Greek word)
Animals
Noson : Disease

3. TYPES OF ZOONOSIS
• Viral Diseases
• Bacterial Diseases
• Parasitic Diseases
• Mycotic Diseases
• Tic borne Diseases

4. MODES OF TRANSMISSION
Types:
• Direct contact (Bite or scratch) • Indirect contact (contaminated food and
water)

5. DISEASES TO BE DISCUSSED
• Rabies
• Ebola
• Influenza
• Tuberculosis
• Leptospirosis
• Brucellosis
VIRAL
BACTERIAL

6. RABIES
• Pathogen: Rabies virus
• Animals commonly involved: Dogs, bats, monkeys, raccoons, foxes, skunks, cattle, wolves,
coyotes, mongooses and cats.
• Modes of transmission: Through saliva by biting, or through scratches from an infected
animal.
• Incubation period: 10 days to 1 year ( average 30-50 days)
• Symptoms: Fever, Headache, Itching at bite sight, Abnormal behaviour, Difficulty swallowing,
Confusion.
• Pathogen characteristics: Bullet like appearance, CNS infection, Found in salivary glands,
Single stranded , Negative-sense, Unsegmented, Enveloped RNA virus.

7. EBOLA
• Pathogen: Ebolavirus spp.
• Animals involved: Chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines.
• Mode of transmission: Through body fluids, organs
• Incubation period: 2-21 days
• Symptoms: Red eyes, Nausea, Chest pain, Stomach pain, Cough, Diarrhea (may be bloody),
Bleeding (usually from eyes, ears , nose and rectum), Weight loss.
• Pathogen characteristics: Genome is a single-stranded RNA, U shaped or Coiled like snail,
Branched, Unsegmented, Negative-sense RNA virus, Length varies ( average length 920 nm).
• Natural reservoir for ebola is unknown.

8. INFLUENZA
• Pathogen: Influenza A virus
• Animals involved: Horses, pigs, domestic and wild birds, wild aquatic mammals such as seals
and whales, minks and farmed carnivores.
• Mode of transmission: Droplets transmitted through air.
• Incubation period: 1-4 days (average 2 days)
• Symptoms: Sour throat, Chills, Stuffy nose, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Headache, Muscle or body
ache.
• Pathogen characteristics: Negative-sense, Single-stranded, segmented RNA viruses, Helical
shaped, Roughly spherical in shape, Spike like projections (500).
• Vaccines: 2009 Pandemic (Pandemrix), Fluzone, Influvac, Optaflu

9. TUBERCULOSIS
• Pathogen: Mycobacterium bovis
• Animals involved: Infected cattle, deer, llamas, pigs, domestic cats, wild carnivores (foxes, coyotes) and
omnivores (possums, mustelids and rodents).
• Mode of transmission: Milk, exhaled air, sputum, urine, faeces and pus from infected animals.
• Incubation period:2- 12 weeks
• Symptoms: Disease of the lungs- fever, cough(lasts 3 or more weeks), chest pain
Night sweats
Fatigue
Loss of appetite
Unintentional weight loss
• Pathogen characteristics: Waxy coated on its cell surface, Highly aerobic, Rod shaped bacterium
• Medicine: rifampin, ethambutol, pirazinamide

10. LEPTOSPIROSIS
• Pathogen: Leptospira interrogans
• Animals involved: Rats, mice, dogs.
• Mode of transmission: Direct or indirect contact with urine of infected animals
• Incubation period: 2- 26 days
• Symptoms: Flu like signs- Fever, Body aches, headache
Weakness, Vomiting, Mental confusion
Jaundice, Stiff neck
Liver, Kidney or CNS damage
• Pathogen characteristics: thin, helical shaped bacteria, gram negative bacteria, aerobic, hook on each end,
motile and possesses two periplasmic flagella.
• Medicine: Effective antibiotics include penicillin G, ampicillin, amoxicillin and doxycycline. In more severe
cases cefotaxime or ceftriaxone should be preferred.

11. BRUCELLOSIS
• Pathogen: B. abortus , B. suis, B. melitensis, B. canis
• Animals involved: Cattle, swine, goat/sheep, dog
• Mode of transmission : Infected milk or meat
• Incubation period: 5 days to several months
• Symptoms: Headache, Weakness, Joint pain, Liver problem, Weight loss, Fatigue,
Depression, Variable (undulant) fever.
• Characteristics of the pathogen: Gram negative, Nonmotile, Non encapsulated
coccobacilli, Aerobes.
• Medicine: 3 week course of rifampicin and doxycycline twice daily.