World Zoonosis Day Celebrated By Dr k k Aggarwal

GREATER KAILASH, India - July 6, 2013 - PRLog -- New Delhi, 6^th July 2013: On the occasion of the World Zoonosis Day, a day-long conference was organized at IMA Hall by Heart Care Foundation of India, Millennium India Education Foundation and Indian Council for Agricultural Research, Govt. of India.

In his message, Padma Shri & Dr. BC Roy National Awardee, Dr. KK Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India, said that zoonosis is any infectious disease that is transmitted by animals, both wild and domestic to humans. Zoonoses constitute 60% of known human infections. Seventy-five percent of emerging pathogens of zoonotic diseases are typically endemic and occur in natural foci. Some of them such as rabies, anthrax, bird flu, SARS, etc. may be potentially life-threatening

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. KML Pathak, Dy. Director General, ICAR said that of 1425 human pathogens, over 61% originate from animals. Of the 175 emerging diseases, 75% are zoonotic and these include threats from rodents (50), dogs (32), cats (30), pigs (26), cattle (22), sheep and goats (16), horse (10), birds (20), bats (9), rabbits (15), camel (6), elephant (5) and fish (16).

Panelists and speakers in the conference included

·          Dr K N Tewari, Former Director Health MCD

·          Dr Lal Krishna, Former Animal Husbandry Commissioner, Govt. of
        India

·          Dr P K Uppal, Ex Director Biotech.GOI

·          Dr R B Mital, Medical Superintendent, Hindu Rao Hospital

·          Dr K S Baghotia, Additional Director Health Services Delhi

Facts about zoonosis

1. High risk groups include infants, small children, elderly, pregnant women, immunocompromised people, health care workers.

2. Occupational zoonosis: Anthrax, Brucellosis, TB, Q-fever, Leptospirosis, Kyasanur forest disease (KFD), Japanese Encephalitis (JE), Russian Spring-Summer. Encephalitis (RSSE), Rabies, Rift Valley fever (RVF), Plague, Psittacosis-ornithosis, Erysipeloid and Bird Flu.

3. Source of infection: Direct contact, contaminated soils, environment, foods; inhalation (Anthrax, TB, Rabies, Bird Flu, Swine Flu, Histoplasmosis); animal bites or scratches (Rabies, Cat Scratch, Rat Bite fever, Erysipeloid); abraded skin (tetanus); arthropod vectors (flea-plague, ticks-KFD, Mosquitoes-Japanese Encephalitis, Yersinia Fever, Filaria and Intra-uterine/transplacental (Toxoplasmosis, Listeria).

4.      Host Animals

·          Farm animals: Cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, swine, cats, dogs,
        camel, poultry

·          Wild animals; Rats, mice/rodents, squirrels, raccoons, foxes, bats,
        migratory birds

·          Vectors: Mosquitoes, ticks, lice , flea, house flies, insects

·          Laboratory animals: Guinea pigs, rats

·          Primates: Monkeys, Gorillas

5.      Common Zoonotic Diseases

·          Bacterial: Cat Scratch Fever, Salmonellosis , Anthrax, Leptospirosis  
       and  plague

·          Viral: Hantavirus, Avian Influenza, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic
        fever, Rabies

·          Parasitic: Toxoplasmosis, Ringworm, Cysticercosis/Taeniasis

·          Fungi: Dermatophytoses, unconventional agents, variant
         Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

·          Food-borne: Salmonella, E. coli, Brucellosis, Campylobacteriosis

·          Cattle: Bovine Tuberculosis, Brucellosis

·          Sheep & Goats: Brucellosis, Salmonellosis and many meat-borne
        parasitic  infections, etc.

·          Poultry: Bird Flu, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

·          Swines: Swine Flu, Cysticercosis and neurocysticercosis

6. Companion Animals

·          Cats: Carry the causative organisms for plague, anthrax, Toxoplasmosis, cowpox, tapeworm, Cat Scratch Disease and many bacterial infections.

·          Dogs: Rabies, Hydatid Cyst and neurocysticercosis, plague, tapeworm, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Lyme disease, Campylobacteriosis, Cryptosporidiosis, Giardiasis, Hookworm infection, Leishmaniasis, Leptospirosis, Ringworm, Toxocariasis, Salmonellosis, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Capnocytophaga canimorsus, Pasteurella bacteremia,etc.

·          Primates: Temple monkeys pose a potentially threat for passing fatal infections to humans, particularly diseases like Herpes, Pox, Ebola, Marburg and Hemorrhagic fevers