Zoonoses

In developing countries like Nigeria, Zoonoses constitute a public health problem due to inadequate infrastructure and financial resources required for their control. It is therefore imperative that awareness is created about it.

Zoonoses according to WHO is defined as:

Diseases and infections that are naturally transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans.

They are caused by a range of disease pathogens such as virus, bacteria, fungi and parasites. Some major diseases like the Ebola virus are zoonotic diseases.
Zoonoses can be classified under the following:

According to its etiology

This is simply the classification of zoonoses based on the causative agents and under this we have

• Viral zoonoses caused by virus e.g Ebola
• Bacterial zoonoses caused by bacteria e.g salmonellosis
• protozoal zoonoses caused by protozoa e.g Trypanosomiasis
• Helminthic zoonoses caused by helminths e.g schistosomiasis
• Ricketssial zoonoses caused by any of the bacteria belonging to the family Rickettsiaceae which are intracellular parasites of arthropods such as lice and ticks e.g Scrub typhus
• Fungal zoonoses caused by fungi e.g histoplasmosis
• Zoonoses caused by ectoparasites e.g scabies

According to its mode of transmission

Based on its mode of transmission, zoonoses are classified into:

• Direct zoonoses: Here, zoonotic diseases are transmitted from an infected vertebrate host to man by direct contact. The causative agent in this case does not undergo any propagative or developmental change during transmission e.g Brucellosis
• Cyclozoonoses: Here, more than one vertebrate host specie, but no invertebrate host specie is required for the completion of the life of the causative agent e.g Taeniasis
• Metazoonoses: These are transmitted by invertebrate vectors within which the causative agent multiplies and develops before transmission to a vertebrate host e.g Leishmaniasis
• Saprozoonoses: These require a vertebrate host and a non-animal developmental site like soil for the development of the causative agent e.g Aspergillosis

Classification according to the reservoir host

Based on their reservoir host, zoonoses are classified into:

• Anthropozoonoses: These are infections transmitted from lower vertebrate animals to man e.g Plague
• Zooanthropozoonoses: These are infections transmitted to lower vertebrate animals from man e.g Tuberculosis
• Amphixenoses: These are infections transmitted from lower vertebrate animals to man.

The following simple steps can be taken to prevent the spread of robotic diseases:

• Observing good personal hygiene: This involives washing your hands thoroughly after handling animals and before preparing or eating foods. Unwashed hands shouldn't be put into the mouth.

• Avoid handling stray and/or wild animals: Animals that appear ill or have skin infections should not be handled without taking necessary precautions. The same applies to wild animals as they may be reservoirs.

• Avoid eating raw or undercooked meat and/or other animal products.

• Managing faeces properly: Faeces from both man and animals should be disposed properly and not allowed to get into water sources.

• Vaccinations for man and animals: some of these diseases have vaccines and they should be made use of, especially for people who work closely with animals e.g vet doctors, people who work in abbattoirs e.t.c

All images in article were gotten from www.pixabay.com

References

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ref 3
Zoonotic Diseases of Public Health Importance., National Institute of Communicable Disease, 2005

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