Tag Archives: Rabies

Straight, No Chaser: Sealed with a (Wrong Type of) Kiss – Zoonotic Diseases

General Health and Wellness, Infectious Disease, Health Prevention, Public Health, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

zoonosisdoglick

It’s interesting how we take animals for granted. Many of us touch and handle them, play with them. Some people keep their pets in their faces, allowing them to kiss and lick them. Do you ever think about where they’ve been and whether they are ill and contagious? Would you be surprised if I told you that approximately 60% of the bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms that cause human disease originates from animals?

 zoonosis

That’s right. There are many diseases that animals have that can be transmitted to humans. These groups of diseases are called zoonoses. It’s at least worth giving it some thought; many of these diseases don’t even require direct contact with the affected animal. Even more concerning is the fact that about 75% of newly emergent infectious diseases affecting humans are of animal origin.
We spend a lot of time in places where infected animals and insects may exist. Besides exposures in relatively exotic areas such as farms, woods, nature parks and petting zoos, simpler environments such as pet stores, fairs, schools and childcare facilities may also prove to be risky.

 zoonosisdeer

Many different types of animals pose these risks, including rodents, amphibians, live poultry, reptiles, insects and an assortment of domestic and wild animals. Here are a few examples (but not an exhaustive list) of how disease may spread that have been particularly common in the news of late.

  • Many animals carry rabies, including bats, raccoons, foxes, skunks, wolves, coyotes, cattle, monkeys, mongooses and dogs.
  • Reptiles such as turtles, iguanas and snakes can transmit Salmonella, a prominent cause of food poisoning.
  • Handling your cat’s kitty litter (or otherwise handling stool) can transmit toxoplasmosis, an infection that can be deadly to those with weakened immune systems or to unborn children.
  • West Nile has been in the news every year this millennium, causing over 1.5 million infections in humans since 1999.
  • Deer and deer mice carry ticks that can lead to Lyme disease, a bacterial infection involving a rash, fever, chills, body aches and possible arthritis, neurological and cardiac disorders.
  • Other common infections caused by these exposures include anthrax, dengue, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, E. coli infection, malaria, Plague and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

If you’re a good pet owner (and otherwise healthy), you shouldn’t have to worry about this much. Simple steps such as keeping your pets’ shots up to date, keeping their play areas clean, avoiding direct contact with wildlife and maintaining basic hygiene measures such as hand washing after contact sufficiently lowers your risk. Here are a few additional tips:

  • Keep tabs on your kids to ensure they wash their hands properly and avoid thumb-sucking, eating and pacifier use after animal contact and before cleaning up.
  • Use insect repellents that contain 20% or more DEET on the exposed skin and be generous with it when in risky areas.
  • Use products that contain repellents (such as permethrin) on your clothing and gear, such as boots, pants, socks and tents.
  • Look for and remove ticks from your and your children’s bodies.
  • Limit mosquito breeding grounds around your home by getting rid of items that hold still water.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have on this topic.

Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s new book Behind The Curtain: A Peek at Life from within the ER at jeffreysterlingbooks.com, iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and wherever books are sold.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, like us on Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and follow us on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2016 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Emergency Room Adventures – The Risk of Rabies

Public Health, Neurology, Infectious Disease, , , , ,

Rabiesdog
Depending on the circumstances of your life, sometimes risks are theoretical, and other times risks become occurrences…
You can’t make this stuff up. It’s another busy night in the ER, and back-to-back patients come in, not related but dealing with the same issue. One’s a child bitten over the eye by a family dog with no shots. The next is a teenager attacked by a possum, which he decided to kick in the mouth, and of course he ends up being bitten. Both of these situations hold a certain risk of rabies exposure.
Rabies is a viral disease transmitted to humans through the bite (or scratch) of an infected animal. It infects the central nervous system, initially producing a multitude of symptoms that resemble the flu (fatigue, headaches, fever, malaise) and then progressing to exotic symptoms (including fear of water, increase in saliva, hallucinations, confusion and partial paralysis) culminating in death within days.
There is no cure for rabies once symptoms appear, so prevention is critical.
Animals that are especially likely to transmit rabies include bats (the most common culprit in the U.S.), foxes, raccoons, skunks and most other carnivores.
rabies1

Bites from these animals are regarded as rabid unless proven otherwise by lab tests.

These animals must be killed and tested as soon as possible.

Animals that have been reported to transmit rabies also include dogs, cats and ferrets.

  • If bitten from one of these animals, and it appears rabid, treatment must begin immediately.
  • If the biting animal appears healthy and can be observed for 10 days, then do so, but the animal must be euthanized at the first sign of rabies.

Others bites in which rabies should be considered include those from rodents (woodchucks, beavers and smaller rodents), rabbits and hares; these almost never require post-exposure prophylaxis unless the area is a high rabies exposure area.  In these instances decisions will be made in consultation with local public health officials.

bat

So what should you do if bitten?

  • Remember, there will be no immediate symptoms, so you can’t trust that you’re ok just because you’re feeling ok.
  • Make every effort to secure the animal.
  • Even if the animal isn’t available, go to the nearest emergency room as soon as possible after contact with a suspect animal.

What can you expect?

  • Vigorous wound cleaning
  • Assessment for and possible administration of two different types of vaccinations. These regimens can prevent the onset of rabies in virtually 100% of cases, one of which needs to be administered in five separate doses over a month’s time.
  • Additional vaccination for tetanus, if appropriate
  • Antibiotics if appropriate.

racoon

Remember, rabies is a fatal disease.  It is meant to be avoided, but if you can’t avoid it, you need to get assessed as rapidly as possible. I hope this information helps you make correct decisions if you’re ever confronted with a rabies prone animal, and for goodness’ sake, please get any house pets all appropriate vaccines.
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic.
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s new book Behind The Curtain: A Peek at Life from within the ER at jeffreysterlingbooks.com, iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and wherever books are sold.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, like us on Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and follow us on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2016 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Sealed with a (Wrong Type of) Kiss – Zoonotic Diseases

Health Prevention, Public Health, Infectious Disease, General Health and Wellness, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

zoonosisdoglick

It’s interesting how we take animals for granted. Many of us touch and handle them, play with them. Some people keep their pets in their faces, allowing them to kiss and lick them. Do you ever think about where they’ve been and whether they are ill and contagious? Would you be surprised if I told you that approximately 60% of the bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms that cause human disease originates from animals?

 zoonosis

That’s right. There are many diseases that animals have that can be transmitted to humans. These groups of diseases are called zoonoses. It’s at least worth giving it some thought; many of these diseases don’t even require direct contact with the affected animal. Even more concerning is the fact that about 75% of newly emergent infectious diseases affecting humans are of animal origin.
We spend a lot of time in places where infected animals and insects may exist. Besides exposures in relatively exotic areas such as farms, woods, nature parks and petting zoos, simpler environments such as pet stores, fairs, schools and childcare facilities may also prove to be risky.

 zoonosisdeer

Many different types of animals pose these risks, including rodents, amphibians, live poultry, reptiles, insects and an assortment of domestic and wild animals. Here are a few examples (but not an exhaustive list) of how disease may spread that have been particularly common in the news of late.

  • Many animals carry rabies, including bats, raccoons, foxes, skunks, wolves, coyotes, cattle, monkeys, mongooses and dogs.
  • Reptiles such as turtles, iguanas and snakes can transmit Salmonella, a prominent cause of food poisoning.
  • Handling your cat’s kitty litter (or otherwise handling stool) can transmit toxoplasmosis, an infection that can be deadly to those with weakened immune systems or to unborn children.
  • West Nile has been in the news every year this millennium, causing over 1.5 million infections in humans since 1999.
  • Deer and deer mice carry ticks that can lead to Lyme disease, a bacterial infection involving a rash, fever, chills, body aches and possible arthritis, neurological and cardiac disorders.
  • Other common infections caused by these exposures include anthrax, dengue, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, E. coli infection, malaria, Plague and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

If you’re a good pet owner (and otherwise healthy), you shouldn’t have to worry about this much. Simple steps such as keeping your pets’ shots up to date, keeping their play areas clean, avoiding direct contact with wildlife and maintaining basic hygiene measures such as hand washing after contact sufficiently lowers your risk. Here are a few additional tips:

  • Keep tabs on your kids to ensure they wash their hands properly and avoid thumb-sucking, eating and pacifier use after animal contact and before cleaning up.
  • Use insect repellents that contain 20% or more DEET on the exposed skin and be generous with it when in risky areas.
  • Use products that contain repellents (such as permethrin) on your clothing and gear, such as boots, pants, socks and tents.
  • Look for and remove ticks from your and your children’s bodies.
  • Limit mosquito breeding grounds around your home by getting rid of items that hold still water.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have on this topic.

Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what 844-SMA-TALK (844-762-8255) and http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and Twitter at @asksterlingmd.

Copyright © 2014 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: The Week in Review and Your Quick Tips

Health Prevention, Medical Treatment, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

week-in-review-545x210
Another week of knowledge and good health has come and gone at Straight, No Chaser.  Here’s your Week in Review.  Click on any of the underlined topics for links to the original posts.
On Sunday, we started the week reviewing rashes found on the palms and soles.  The entire post was meant to raise awareness that secondary syphilis presents like this, which is an important consideration given how easily primary syphilis can be missed, how devastating tertiary syphilis is and how simple treatment is once diagnosed.  Get it checked, and get it treated.  Sunday also brought a tear jerker of a topic in reviewing the physical signs of child abuse.  We often say knowledge is power, but in this example, knowledge could mean continued life for a victim.  Review those patterns of symptoms, and commit to being involved when needed.
On Monday, we reviewed lactose intolerance, which we tend to think is funny in theory but never is if you’re the one affected.  Remember it’s not the dairy that’s important to your health but the calcium it provides.  There are alternatives.  We also provided Quick Tips for the newborn in your family.  It’s never a bad thing to have a newborn evaluated, but don’t be distraught if the answer to your questions involve a lot of reassurance.  Remember, lots of answers to your questions involve things that happen underneath the diaper.
On Tuesday, we reviewed rabies.  We all knew there was a reason we didn’t like bats, skunks and raccoons, but if you live in the wrong area, your household cat or dog could be just as deadly if they aren’t completely immunized against rabies.  We also looked at injuries that occur from playing golf.  Who’d have thought five hours of swinging a club 100 MPH could cause back problems?  It’s such a peaceful game!
On Wednesday, we discussed ulcers.  Amazingly, peptic ulcer disease is most commonly traceable to a bacterial infection.  This is another condition where smoking and drinking (and overuse of pain medications) will come back to haunt you.  Wednesday also brought a review of allergic reactions and the potential life-threatening nature of them.  Because of this fact, it’s just not a good idea to wait around for things to get better on their own.
On Thursday, we discussed antioxidants and free radicals, which surprised a lot of you.  Although you seemingly can’t go wrong with antioxidants you eat, taking all those expensive supplements has been shown not to provide the same level of benefit and may in fact be harmful.  We also reviewed grief and bereavement.  I hope many of you learned that your suffering and responses are not only normal, but they’re universal.
On Friday, we provided an update on CPR and gave you another reason to remember the BeeGees.  Layperson and bystander CPR has been made so easy that you just have to take the two minutes to learn what to do.  We also reviewed cocaine myths and truths, which is important because cocaine often leads to the need for CPR.  I think I scared some people off with the image of big needles to treat their cocaine erections… Oh well!
On Saturday, we discussed drowning.  Keep your infants at arm’s length, and remember to bring a few life-savers (preservers, ropes, etc.) when you plan on being especially adventurous in the water.  We wrapped the week up discussing bedwetting, which often resolves on its own but sometimes is a symptom of another medical condition.
Thanks for your support and continued feedback.  If you have topics you’d like to see discussed, please feel free to send me an email or comment.
Jeffrey E. Sterling, MD

Straight, No Chaser: Emergency Room Adventures – The Risk of Rabies

Health Prevention, Medical Treatment, Infectious Disease, , , , , , , , , ,

Rabiesdog
You can’t make this stuff up.   It’s another busy night in the ER, and back-to-back patients come in, not related but dealing with the same issue.  One’s a child bitten over the eye by a family dog with no shots.  The next is a teenager attacked by a possum, which he decided to kick in the mouth, and of course he ends up being bitten.  Both of these situations hold a certain risk of rabies exposure.
Rabies is a viral disease transmitted to humans through the bite (or scratch) of an infected animal.  It infects the central nervous system, initially producing a multitude of symptoms that resemble the flu (fatigue, headaches, fever, malaise) and then progressing to exotic symptoms (including fear of water, increase in saliva, hallucinations, confusion and partial paralysis) culminating in death within days.
There is no cure for rabies once symptoms appear, so prevention is critical.
Animals that are especially likely to transmit rabies include bats (the most common culprit in the U.S.), foxes, raccoons, skunks and most other carnivores.
rabies1

  • Bites from these animals are regarded as rabid unless proven otherwise by lab tests.  These animals must be killed and tested as soon as possible.

Animals that have been reported to transmit rabies include dogs, cats and ferrets.

  • If bitten from these animals, and it appears rabid, treatment must begin immediately.
  • If the biting animal appears healthy and can be observed for 10 days, then do so, but the animal must be euthanized at the first sign of rabies.

Others bites to consider include bites from rodents (woodchucks, beavers and smaller rodents), rabbits and hares, which almost never require post-exposure prophylaxis unless the area is a high rabies exposure area.  In these instances decisions will be made in consultation with local public health officials.
So what should you do if bitten?

  • Remember, there will be no immediate symptoms, so you can’t trust that you’re ok just because you’re feeling ok.
  • Make every effort to secure the animal.
  • Even if the animal isn’t available, go to the nearest emergency room as soon as possible after contact with a suspect animal.

What can you expect?

  • Vigorous wound cleaning
  • Assessment for and possible administration of two different types of vaccinations.  These regimens can prevent the onset of rabies in virtually 100% of cases, one of which needs to be administered in five separate doses over a month’s time.
  • Additional vaccination for tetanus, if appropriate
  • Antibiotics if appropriate.

Remember, rabies is a fatal disease.  It is meant to be avoided, but if you can’t avoid it, you need to get assessed as rapidly as possible.  I hope this information helps you make correct decisions if you’re ever confronted with a rabies prone animal, and for goodness’ sake, please get any house pets all appropriate vaccines.