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Keep zoonotic illness on radar in infectious illness workup
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IDC NY 2011
NEW YORK — Exposure to animals is an important part of evaluating for an infectious illness, particularly for young children, according to a presentation at the 24th Annual Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium, held here recently.
Joseph A. Bocchini Jr., MD, who is professor and chairman of the department of pediatrics at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, told the audience of pediatricians that zoonotic diseases play an important role in counseling families about pet ownership.
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Bocchini said he advocates pet ownership because pets can teach children valuable lessons about responsibility. However, recent trends in pet ownership have resulted in a growing number of people owning pets that may be imported from other parts of the world, and this warrants a discussion about what type of pets are best suited for families.
For families with children aged younger than 5 years, Bocchini said he discourages nontraditional pets. He defined these pets as those that are:
- Imported, non-native species, which are now bred in the United States;
- Indigenous wildlife, such as squirrels;
- Hybrids, which are domestic animals that are crossbred with exotic or wild animals.
Discussing the prevalence of Salmonella — a significant portion of the sporadic nontyphoidal cases which occur annually in the United States, can be attributed to reptile and amphibian exposure - Bocchini urged that children aged younger than 5 years, people who may be immunocompromised and pregnant women avoid contact with reptiles, amphibians, rodents, ferrets and baby poultry.
He also noted that children are exposed to animals outside the home in a variety of public settings. A number of zoonoses, sporadic cases and outbreaks, have been reported in children following animal exposure in public settings such as farms, petting zoos, at animal displays at fairs,pet stores and at swap meets.
In the event that a patient presents to the office with a febrile illness, Bocchini said, "a history of contact with an animal may lead you to a specific test, and may facilitate the identification of an unusual infection."
He used the monkeypox outbreak in 2003 as an example of an unusual outbreak being identified through a history of a child's contact with a prairie dog.
Bocchini noted that 75% of emerging and reemerging diseases in the past 25 years have been zoonotic related. Therefore, he said, it is important to keep the potential for these illnesses on the radar. In addition to monkeypox, Bocchini noted the H5N1 outbreak associated with poultry, the SARS outbreak associated with palm civets and bats, and, most recently, H1N1 influenza, which led to the first pandemic of this century, are all examples of why physicians need to be mindful of zoonotic illnesses.
Disclosure: Dr. Bocchini reports no relevant financial disclosures.
For more information:
- Bocchini JA. Zoonoses – from the farm to the jungle. Presented at: the 24th Annual Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium; Nov. 18-20, 2011; New York.
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