Serious Diseases We Can Get From Animals

West Nile Virus

The West Nile virus is spread to humans through mosquito bites. Mosquitos pick up the virus from infected birds, and they can spend the rest of their lives spreading the virus to any animal they bite. This virus is incurable and has no effective vaccine. The only way to prevent West Nile virus is to avoid mosquitos during peak mosquito season, which runs from early summer to the beginning of autumn. Symptoms of West Nile virus include headache, body aches, swollen lymph nodes, rash, and fever. Patients are given supportive treatment, usually in a hospital, until the worst of the symptoms go away. While West Nile virus usually doesn't cause death in fairly healthy humans, older individuals and those with compromised immune systems can develop neurological problems. Even then, death typically only occurs in less than one percent of cases.

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Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is a condition caused by parasites transmitted from animals to humans by phlebotomine sand flies. There are three forms of it that can infect humans: cutaneous, visceral, and mucocutaneous. The cutaneous variety is a boil-like protrusion on the skin, and it usually heals on its own, even without treatment. The visceral form of this condition causes serious infections and damage to the internal organs, including the liver, spleen, and intestines. This form has a very high fatality rate when left untreated. The final form, mucocutaneous, results in mucosal or skin ulcers, typically resulting in damage around the mouth and nose.

Treatment for leishmaniasis includes antimony-based medicines and strong antibiotics. The best way to avoid this disease is to keep from being bitten by sand flies. This means staying indoors as much as possible at night, using bug spray, and keeping insect netting over beds when visiting the tropical and subtropical regions where the parasite lives.