Serious Diseases We Can Get From Animals

Rift Valley Fever

Rift Valley fever is a viral zoonotic disease that causes severe disease in both humans and animals and originated from the Rift Valley of Kenya. Human infections result from direct or indirect contact with infected animal organs or blood. Humans can become infected when drinking unpasteurized milk from infected animals. Bites from infected mosquitoes, commonly the Aedes mosquito, infect humans and animals. The incubation period is between two to six days and symptoms include the sudden onset of flu-like symptoms, such as fever, muscle and joint pain, and headaches.

Some patients experience sensitivity to light, vomiting, neck stiffness, and loss of appetite and in the early stages of the disease, it can be mistaken for meningitis. Other symptoms include severe headache, disorientation, memory loss, confusion, hallucinations, vertigo, convulsions, lethargy, and coma. No specific treatment is required for patients with mild symptoms of Rift Valley fever. For the more severe cases, the predominant treatment is general supportive therapy. An inactivated vaccine is available for humans, though the vaccine is not licensed and is not commercially available.

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Malaria

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. It can be transferred from one human to another via the mosquito. Since malaria can be lethal its early detection is vital. Malaria infects around 500 million individuals annually worldwide and is a disease with the largest death toll. Malaria is a well-disguised disease and displays similar symptoms to the common cold and flu, including fever followed with shivering, severe headaches, vomiting, excessive perspiration, and anemia.

Cerebral malaria is the most severe strain with neurological complications. Surviving patients have an increased risk of cognitive and neurological deficits, epilepsy, and behavioral difficulties, making cerebral malaria a leading cause of childhood neuro-disability in Sub-Saharan Africa. The type of treatment depends on the severity of the symptoms and age of the patient. Antimalarial drugs have been marked by a constant struggle between evolving drug-resistant parasites and the search for new drug formulations.

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