Module 4 Flashcards
Wildlife Zoonoses (64 cards)
urban-wildlife interaction transmission
○ As human settlements expand into wildlife habitats, there is an increased risk of contact between humans and wildlife in urban areas
cross-species transmission
○ Some pathogens undergo genetic changes, allowing them to adapt to new hosts
This can lead to cross-species transmission events
leptospirosis
two species: Leptospira interrogans, which includes all pathogenic strains, and Leptospira biflexa, which contains non-pathogenic strains
The preferred reservoir host and incidental host vary with the strain as well as the geographic location.
leptospira host range
Due to its extensive host range, affecting many wild and domestic animals, leptospirosis is one of the most prevalent zoonotic diseases globally. It is estimated that more than one million cases occur worldwide annually.
Leptospira epidemiology
It is most common in tropical regions due to the pathogen’s ability to survive longer in warm, humid environments. Outbreaks often follow heavy rain and flooding.
The climate, population density, and the level of contact between maintenance hosts and incidental hosts, influences the spread of infection. A high population of maintenance hosts, inadequate sanitation and hygiene standards, as well as climate change linked to flooding are significant risk factors for infection in tropical nations. Additionally, many tropical nations have significant populations focused on agriculture, increasing the likelihood of human contact with infected animals
Leptospira transmission
Animals can serve as either maintenance hosts or incidental hosts.
Humans are incidental hosts, as they only shed bacteria for a limited amount of time.
The disease is maintained through chronic infection of the renal tubules of maintenance hosts. Rats and mice are the most common, mostly asymptomatic, with the bacteria cleared from all organs except the kidneys. Humans can contract the infection through direct contact with the urine of infected animals or indirect contact with contaminated environmental samples
Human-to-human transmission is extremely rare.
transmission of Leptospira for high risk groups
exposure at work or during leisure activities (sewer workers, farmers, swimmers, fishers, and athletes)
- direct contact: farmers, vets, etc. contact with infected animal
- indirect: sewer workers, miners, etc.
Leptospira pathogenesis
Invasion:
○ Leptospira invades the body through non-intact skin, mucous membranes, or through ingestion of contaminated food and water. Once inside the body, it uses virulence factors to establish infection, including LPS, hemolysins, outer membrane proteins, other surface proteins, as well as adhesion molecules.
- Spread:
○ It is spread through the lymphatics and then into the bloodstream, homing to the liver and kidneys
- Persistence:
○ It can persist in some of the anatomically localized and immunologically privileged sites, like the renal tubule
○ Leptospires appear in the kidney 2-4 weeks after acute infection and attach to the brush border of the proximal renal tubular epithelium
- Excretion:
○ Animals may excrete leptospires intermittently or regularly for months, years, or a lifetime. humans do not remain carriers for long, but in cases where treatment is insufficient or nonexistent, leptospires can continue to shed in the urine for up to 3 months after infection
clinical manifestation of Leptospira in animals
- Cats: infections are mostly asymptomatic
- Cows, goats, and sheep: abortion, stillbirth, infertility, and haemolactia
- Pigs: fever, abortion, stillbirth, jaundice, acute renal failure, and loss of appetite
- Horses: fever, uvelitis, abortion, and acute renal failure
- Marine Animals: increased drinking and urination, acute renal failure, vomiting, and reluctance to use their flippers
- Dogs: fever, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, jaundice, loss of appetite, and changes in urination frequency
clinical manifestation of Leptospira in humans
The incubation period typically ranges from 7-12 days, but it can be as short as 3 days or as long as a month
- General Symptoms:
○ sudden onset of fever, chills, and headache, also muscle pain and tenderness.
- Eye Symptoms:
○ Conjunctival suffusion, marked by dilated conjunctival vessels without pus, as well as subconjunctival hemorrhages and jaundice.
- GI Symptoms:
○ Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, which can worsen dehydration,
severe Leptospirosis
dysfunction of organs such as the liver, kidneys, lungs, and brain, indicating an advanced infection stage. can manifest suddenly, affecting a significant portion of patients upon presentation.
Common symptoms of severe leptospirosis include jaundice and a widespread rash on the palms and the feet.
Leptospira diagnosis
- Serology:
the enzyme immunoassay uses an IgG and IgM ELISA kit, detecting antibodies against Leptospira spp. In serum
Timing is important for this testing as antibodies for Leptospira develop between 3-10 days after symptom onset.- PCR:
Leptospirosis treatment
The treatment depends on the severity of the disease.
The mild form of leptospirosis is rarely fatal, but the severe form (Weil’s disease) is associated with high mortality rates.
Early antibiotic treatment can decrease the severity and duration of the disease, therefore it is recommended to begin treatment in patients with a high clinical suspicion of leptospirosis without waiting for lab results.
Patients with severe leptospirosis usually need an intensive care unit admission as multiple organs can be affected and decompensation can occur rapidly.
prevention and control of leptospira
source reduction (rodent control measures and animal vaccination)
environment and water sanitation
hygienic personal practices
Y pestis
a non-motile, gram - bacilli bacterium.
Y pestis results in a severe, acute, and fast-progressing febrile illness with high mortality rates.
- causative agent of the plague
forms of the plague
bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic
transmission of Y pestis to animals
through the bites of infected fleas, with rodents (rats) being the main hosts that maintain the bacterium in nature.
- other forms are direct contact and ingestion, but these are less common
Y pestis flea born transmission
○ When an infected flea bites a host, it regurgitates the bacteria into the bite wound.
○ Environmental conditions can influence flea populations and their interaction with host species
Y pestis direct contact and ingestion
○ less common
○ Carnivorous animals might contract the bacterium by eating infected rodents
YP transmission in humans
Transmission can be from a variety of routes: flea bites (causing bubonic plague), respiratory droplets (causing pneumonic plague), contact with infected pets or domestic animals (causing conjunctivitis dermatitis, or pneumonia), and in rare cases, consumption of contaminated meat (causing gastroenteritis)
Handling sick or dead animals without PPE further increases the risk.
YP pathogenesis
- Subcutaneous Infection:
○ Following the flea bit, the flea regurgitates the bacteria into the host’s skin while feeding- Migration to Lymph Nodes
○ The bacteria migrate to the nearest lymph nodes, where they begin to multiply rapidly
○ This often results in swollen and painful lymph nodes (buboes), characteristic of the bubonic plague - Lymphatic and Hematogenous Spread:
○ The bacteria can spread from the lymph nodes to the bloodstream (septicemia) and then to other organs, including the lungs (pneumonic plague) - Severe Inflammation:
○ The systemic infection triggers a strong inflammatory response, often leading to sepsis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and multi-organ failure.
- Migration to Lymph Nodes
clinical manifestations of YP in rodents
- Subacute:
○ Rodents affected by subacute plague may develop necrotic buboes and necrotic nodules in the liver, spleen, and lungs, succumbing to the disease six days or more after infection- Subacute and Acute:
○ nasal bleeding, small skin hemorrhages, abscess formation, and pneumonitis
○ The resolving form of the plague is characterized by lymph node enlargement, accompanied by localized pus filled necrosis - Acute:
hemorrhagic buboes and splenomegaly, with death occurring within 3-5 days of infection, typically without other internal lesions present
- Subacute and Acute:
clinical manifestations of YP in humans
The incubation period of plague in humans lasts 2-6 days, marked by a sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, body ache, weakness, vomiting, and nausea.
Plague infections manifest in 3 forms based on the route of infection: bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic.
- Bubonic:
○ Results from the bite of an infected flea
○ Characterized by swollen and painful lymph nodes (buboes), fever, chills, and headache
○ Without treatment, lethality rates range from 40-70% and can advance to pneumonic plague and fatal septicemia.
- Septicemic Plague:
○ Can occur if the bacteria is spread through the bloodstream, either from a flea bite or secondary to bubonic plague
○ widespread infection and inflammation, leading to fever, chills, abdominal pain, shock, and bleeding into the skin and other organs
○ Untreated, the fatality range is nearly 100%
- Pneumonic Plague:
○ Involves the lungs and presents with symptoms like cough, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and bloody/watery sputum
○ this form can be transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets
○ Without early treatment, it has a near 100% mortality rate from respiratory failure and shock within 2 days
YP diagnosis
cultures of clinical specimens and by serology that indicates a four fold rise in an antibody titer in patient serum