Greetings! In today’s class we shall learn about bacterial infections and parasite common to man and animals. In addition, we will also learn about viruses and bacteria.
Bacterial Infections & Parasite Common To Man And Animals
“Livestock diseases are a public health problem because many of them affect human beings as well as animals. This article considers only those caused by bacteria and parasites. Fungus disease common to animals and man may be illustrated by lumpy jaw and virus disease by sleeping sickness (encephalomyelitis of horses, encephalitis of human beings.)
“Brucellosis affects cattle, swine, goats, and according to recent even, horses. It causes undulant fever in human beings, who can acquire the infection from unpasteurized milk or by careless handling of diseased animals and their products. Bovine tuberculosis can be passed on to human beings, children being the most susceptible. Usually it is acquired by drinking raw milk. Hence both Bang’s disease (brucellosis) and the tuberculosis eradication campaigns are important public health measures as well as being of benefit to famers.
“Septic sore throat in human beings is often traceable to the consumption of raw milk from cows harboring (Streptococcus agalactiae) have not been shown to be capable of setting up a disease process in man. Milk, of course, can easily be contaminated after it leaves the cow.
“Anthrax affects many species of animals, including domestic livestock, and is readily passed on to human beings. Efficient methods of sterilizing hides, wool and hair should prevent infection from these sources. Persons who handle carcasses of animals who have died of anthrax must use the utmost precautions.”
“Swine erysipelas can affect turkeys, ducks, pigeons, and sheep; possibly it is now becoming more widespread among domestic animals. It causes erysipeloid in human beings, the organism usually entering through broken skin.”
“Food poisoning of various types may result from eating products contaminated with Salmonella bacteria and staphylococci, which infect animals. Botulism is caused by three types of botulinus organisms which produce deadly toxins in perishable foods. The poison of each type can be neutralized by its own antitoxin. Botulinus spores are extremely resistant to destruction even by boiling, and they can infect many kinds of food products.
“Perhaps the most important worm parasite transmissible from animals to man is the nematode that causes trichinosis. It usually is acquired from infected pork that has not been thoroughly cooked. The beef tapeworm and the pork tapeworm are also acquired by human beings from raw or undercooked meat. If eggs of the pork tapeworm are swallowed, bladder worms may lodge in the heart, brain, or eye. Several species of worm parasites that normally infest animals can develop to maturity in the human body.”
Viruses & Bacteria
“Viruses are too small to be seen under a microscope, and they pass through a filter fine enough to hold back bacteria. Only in recent years has it been possible to propagate some viruses artificially, by the use of living tissues; and these studies have revealed many facts and led to the development of certain immunization methods. More than 35 virus diseases of animals are now known. Some viruses attack nerve tissue primarily, as in rabies and encephalomyelitis; others skin and membrane tissues, as in foot-and-mouth disease; and still others, several or all kinds of tissue. After a virsus has weakened the body’s defenses, bacteria that may not ordinarily be very harmful will often become secondary invaders, with serious results, as in hog cholera complications.
“Bacteria and viruses invade the body in various ways, mainly through the respiratory, digestive, and genital tracts and the skin. They are transmitted from animal to animal by biting insects, by the blood, excretions, and secretions of infected animals which contaminate the surroundings, and by carriers-that is, animals that harbor an infective agent without apparently getting the disease themselves or continue to harbor the agent after recovering as in foot-and-mouth disease.”
A Quote To Note:
“Animals from which milk is obtained are not always healthy. They may be diseased. A cow may be apparently well in the morning, and die before night. Then she was diseased in the morning, and her milk was diseased, but you did not know it. The animal creation is diseased.” {CDF pg. 330}
Grab a friend and share the wealth, from what you’ve learned in the School of Health! In next week’s class we shall learn about diseases of animals and man. Until then, God bless!
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