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Zoonoses and veterinary public health (VPH)
Any disease and/or infection which is naturally "transmissible from vertebrate animals to man" is classified as a zoonosis according to the PAHO publication "Zoonoses and communicable diseases common to man and animals". Over 200 zoonoses have been described and they are known since many centuries. They involve all types of agents: bacteria, parasites, viruses and unconventional agents.
Some examples of zoonoses are:
Bacteria
Every year millions of people get sick because of foodborne zoonoses such as Salmonellosis and Campylobacteriosis which cause fever, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, malaise and nausea. Other bacterial zoonoses are: anthrax, brucellosis, E. coli, leptospirosis, plague, shigellosis and tularaemia.
Parasites
Cysticercosis/Taeniasis caused by a parasite which lives in swine and can causes epilepsy, headache and many other symptoms. In Latin America for example, 100 out of 100,000 inhabitants suffer from this disease (estimation). Other parasitical zoonoses are echinococcosis/hydatidosis, toxoplasmosis and trematodosis.
Rickettsial diseases
Q-fever is a disease of many different animal species. The main sources of human infection are affected domestic animals and their products. Human patients can develop a chronic illness characterized by endocarditis and hepatitis
Viruses
Rabies which is a disease of carnivores and bats mainly transmissible to humans by bites. Almost all persons severely exposed to rabid animals will die if not treated. An estimated number of 55,000 persons, mainly children, die of this disease in the world every year. Dogs are responsible for most human deaths. Other viral zoonoses are avian influenza, crimean-congo haemorrhagic fever, ebola and rift valley fever.
Unconventional agents
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy is thought to be the cause of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJD) which is a neurological disease different from CJD, leading to death in humans.
Other important zoonoses are brucellosis and echinococcosis/hydatidosis for example. Zoonoses still represent significant public health threats, but many of them are neglected. They are affecting hundred thousands of people especially in developing countries, although most of them can be prevented.
Emerging zoonoses
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Veterinary Public Health (VPH)
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Control of neglected zoonotic diseases
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