TRANSMITTED DISEASES FROM ANIMALS AND INSECTES TO HUMAN

Qualifications:

• Egyptian Board Fellowship of Family Medicine, Egypt, January 2004.
• Post Graduate Certificate in Professional Development in Family Practice and Women’s Health. University of Exeter, United Kingdom, Mars 2000.
• Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt, 1987.
• Bachelor of Medicine- and Bachelor of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt, 1980

INTRODUCTION TO ZOONOSIS
TRANSMITTED DISEASES FROM ANIMALS AND INSECTES
TO
HUMAN

It is known that there are about two hundreds and seven diseases transmitted from animals and insects to human.
These diseases caused by parasites or bacteria or virus or fungus infections and infect different part of the body like cardio vascular system, respiratory system, gastrointestinal system, urology system and may infect skin also.

It is proved that 30 % of these diseases transmitted directly to human through direct contact with the animal and the remaining 70 % transmitted indirectly through ingestion of food materials which manufactured from animal origin.

lso it is known that the zoontic diseases which infect animal and human are more virulent in human than the non zoontic diseases which infect human only such as: swine Influenza which is more serious to human than normal influenza which infect human only.

Fig.1 International conferences of parasitic diseases and infectious diseases warned people from having animals or birds inside their houses (fig.1) and warned people also from dallying, hugging or foreplay with animals or birds to avoid transmission of different infectious diseases from animals or birds to them.

These conferences also recommended people to avoid throw of dead bodies and refuges of animals or birds in roads, grounds, water streams or in rubbish areas to prevent spread of transmission of many infectious diseases to human.

As for example, it is known that the rats act as reservoir for more than twenty diseases and can transmit them to the human via fleas, lice, bugs and some other insects.
These diseases are more active in human body than animal body.
These diseases which transmitted from animal to human are known as diseases of animal origin and scientifically known as “zoonosis” which defined as infection or infectious disease which transmitted from animal to human in normal circumstances and occurred as endemic diseases which present all time of the year in certain place, also these diseases can be occurred as epidemics, that is happened when infection spreads more than normal occurrence in same place and spreads to other areas , further more spread of infection can be in form of pandemic in case of spread of infection from country to other country.

There are six diseases transmitted from cattle to Human Being: 
• Rift valley fever.
• Tuberculosis.
• Anthrax.
• Foot and mouth disease which can be transmitted also through sheep and pigs also.
• Mad Cow Disease.
• Brucellosis (fig.2) which can be transmitted also through sheep and pigs also.

Cats transmit Toxoplasmosis infection to human (fig.3); infected human females suffer from consecutive abortion and delivery of baby with serious congenital deformities like hydrocephalus (head size enlargement), deafness and blindness.

so cat can cause fever to the human in case of exposure to cat scratch, this fever known as cat scratch fever.

Dogs transmit many diseases to human:

• Rabies: which is very serious infection and can lead to death of infected person, infection transmitted by biting, so the saliva of infected dog which containing rabies virus transmitted to central nervous system of the victim, also other animals in the forest like monkeys, foxes and wolfs or domestic animals like cats, horses and camels can transmit Rabies to human by biting.
• Hydrated cyst ( Fig.4) which occurred in human by:
  eating contaminated food materials by stool of infected dog by Echinococcus granulose worm, this stool contain eggs of the worm, or by handling dirt, soil or dog hair contains eggs.

then this eggs hatching and transformed to be hydatid cysts which can be found in liver, lungs and brain causing serious effects and need very careful surgery for removal to avoid rupture of the cyst which cause anaphylactic shock and spreading of daughter cysts inside the body.

• Tuberculosis.
• Scabies.
• Bacterial and Viral Respiratory Diseases.