Pet-assisted therapy in the nursing home setting: potential for zoonosis

Pet-assisted therapy in the nursing home setting, as a vital component of the Eden Alternative or Human Habitat program, is gaining widespread recognition and implementation. Programs such as this help to improve the quality of life of nursing home residents by offsetting resident loneliness, helplessness, and boredom. However, use of companion animals (and, frequently, birds and fish) may be associated with the introduction of infectious entities that are normally uncommon in this setting (zoonosis). Examples include psittacosis, bartonellosis, toxocariasis, Capnocytophaga canimorsus, pasturellosis, Q fever, and leptospirosis, to name but a few. Hence vigilance for unusual clinical manifestations that may herald such diseases is necessary. In addition, prevention of such illnesses by routine veterinary screening of both resident and visiting companion animals is mandatory. Infection control policies and procedures geared toward management and prevention of zoonotic illnesses should be developed and implemented in all nursing homes offering pet-assisted therapy.     

Simian parvovirus infection: a potential zoonosis

INTRODUCTION: Simian parvovirus (SPV) causes severe anemia in immunocompromised macaques. The closely related erythrovirus, parvovirus B19, causes anemia in susceptible humans and can be grown in human bone marrow mononuclear cells in vitro. We hypothesized that SPV may infect humans and replicate in human bone marrow mononuclear cells. METHODS: Serum samples from handlers of an SPV-seropositive macaque colony were tested by Western blot for evidence of antibodies to SPV. SPV capsid protein was expressed in insect cells, and SPV was cultured in human and macaque bone marrow mononuclear cells. RESULTS: Fifty-one percent of exposed handlers (n=65) were found to be SPV seropositive, compared with 35% of nonexposed individuals (n=124). In 17% of exposed handlers, compared with 6% of nonexposed individuals, antibodies were directed to SPV but not to B19. SPV capsid proteins, like those of B19, self-assembled to form parvovirus-like particles, and these capsids, like B19 capsids, bound to globoside, suggesting that globoside is also the receptor for SPV. We demonstrated that SPV could replicate in vitro in both human and macaque bone marrow mononuclear cells and that it was cytotoxic to erythroid progenitor cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that SPV may infect human bone marrow mononuclear cells in vitro and in vivo and should be considered a potential zoonosis.     

Bovine tuberculosis in man--reinfection or endogenous exacerbation.

Cattle tuberculosis was totally eradicated in Sweden 20 years ago. Twelve cases of bovine tuberculosis in man were reported in 1974 and 1975. All cases lived for many years in areas where cattle tuberculosis had previously been common. No recent source of infection could be demonstrated. These findings are in accordance with an exacerbation of a distant infection.     

Clonorchiasis: a key foodborne zoonosis in China

The oriental liverfluke, Clonorchis sinensis, is of major socioeconomic importance in parts of Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The parasite is transmitted via snails to freshwater fish, and then to human beings and other piscivorous mammals, and causes substantial clinical or subclinical disease, known as clonorchiasis. There is considerable evidence for an aetiological relation between clonorchiasis and cholangiocarcinoma in human beings. It is estimated that about 35 million people are infected globally, of whom approximately 15 million are in China. Although very little information from China has been published in the English language, recent analyses of epidemiological data sets suggest that clonorchiasis is having an increased human-health impact due to the greater consumption of raw freshwater fish. To gain an improved insight into clonorchiasis in China, this review provides a background on the parasite and its life cycle, summarises key aspects regarding the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of clonorchiasis, describes the geographic distribution and prevalence of clonorchiasis, and makes some recommendations for future research and the control of this important disease.     

Human monkeypox: an emerging zoonosis

Human monkeypox is a rare viral zoonosis endemic to central and western Africa that has recently emerged in the USA. Laboratory diagnosis is important because the virus can cause disease that is clinically indistinguishable from other pox-like illnesses, particularly smallpox and chickenpox. Although the natural animal reservoir of the monkeypox virus is unknown, rodents are the probable source of its introduction into the USA. A clear understanding of the virulence and transmissibility of human monkeypox has been limited by inconsistencies in epidemiological investigations. Monkeypox is the most important orthopoxvirus infection in human beings since the eradication of smallpox in the 1970s. There is currently no proven treatment for human monkeypox, and questions about its potential as an agent of bioterrorism persist.     

Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis: current status and emerging tools for its management in India

Drug resistance in tuberculosis is a global problem and India is no exception. However, this rise is mainly among the previously treated cases, generally reported from the hospitals (majority of which are the tertiary health care centres). Primary resistance figures are still static and are mostly below 5% level. Detection of drug resistance in tuberculosis is conventionally performed by comparing the growth inhibition on the drug containing medium as compared to the drug free control (phenotypic methods). Since these methods are dependant on appearance of visible colonies of M. tuberculosis, these methods take longer time to provide susceptibility testing results and are labor-intensive. Therefore, alternate phenotypic methods based on the bacterial metabolism (CO2 production, Oxygen uptake, ATP bioluminescence etc) and thus the viability of organisms, have been tried and found promising in overcoming this hindrance of longer time requirement. These systems, besides having good sensitivity and impressive specificity as compared to the conventional methods, reduce the total turn around times for isolation as well as susceptibility testing of M. tuberculosis. Recent advances in our understanding of the molecular basis of drug resistance have led to the development of genotypic methods for detection of mutations/mechanisms associated with resistance. However, most of these phenotypic and genotypic advancements require expertise and expensive equipments/technologies, which limit their wider application. This article reviews current status of multi-drug resistance in tuberculosis (MDR-TB), the recent developments for its rapid and reliable detection and effective management with special reference to India.     

Bovine tuberculosis in Benghazi cow project (Libya)

Dual-tuberculin tests were performed on cows of five dairy stations in the cow project of Benghazi (Libya). 3413 cows were tested and 142 (4.26%) were found to show specific tuberculin sensitivity. Most of the reactors (7.9%) were in Abo Garar dairy station. Following the standard interpretation of tuberculin tests, 88 cow (2.6%) were retained, 51 cows (1.5%) were retested and 3 cows only (0.09%) were destroyed from all cows investigated.