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List of Terms: X-Y-Z
(Return to Comprehensive List of Terms)
> Xerophilic
The ability of an organism to survive under dry conditions.
> Yersinia enterocolitica
This pathogen causes yersiniosis, a disease characterized by diarrhea and/or vomiting.
Yersinia enterocolitica
Sources: Raw meat and seafood, dairy products, produce, and untreated
water.
Illness
Incubation: 1 to 2 days after eating contaminated food.
Symptoms: Fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, which may be
particularly severe for children.
Duration: 1 to 2 days.
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| About three-fourths of the important known zoonoses are associated
with domesticated animals, including pets. |
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> Zoonoses (plural) or Zoonosis (singular)
Infections in animals that can be transmitted to humans.
Food Safety Implication: Animal diseases remain a concern principally
because of the economic losses they cause and the possible transmission of disease-causing
organisms to humans. The Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary
Medicine regulates the feed that animals eat to ensure that it does not harbor
zoonotic pathogens that can be transmitted to people. (Also see Center
for Veterinary Medicine.)
How Animal Diseases Can Be Transferred to Humans:
- Human Consumption of Raw or Undercooked Meat, Poultry, or Seafood
- For example, if meat contains a harmful pathogen, and it is not thoroughly cooked
to kill the pathogen, foodborne illness/disease may result once the food is eaten.
- Humans Being Bitten or Stung by an Insect or Animal - For example,
dog bites may seriously injure tissues and can also transmit bacterial infections
and rabies, a disease of viral origin. The bite of a diseased rat may transmit
any of several diseases to man, including plague, salmonellosis, leptospirosis,
and rat-bite fevers; the bites of venomous snakes and fish can lead to human discomfort
and death.
- Human Contact with the Flesh of an Animal - The flesh of various
types of fish is toxic to man. For example, Japanese puffers contain the poisonous
chemical compound tetrodotoxin; scombroid fish harbor Proteus morganii,
which causes gastrointestinal diseases; and mullet and surmullet can cause nervous
disturbances.
Some Examples of Zoonotic Diseases:
- Anthrax - from ruminants, horses, and swine.
- Brucellosis - from domestic livestock.
- Psittacosis - from birds of the parrot family.
- Rabies - from small mammals, such as dogs, foxes, bats, and rodents.
- Tularemia - from rabbits and wild rodents.
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