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Domestication of Diseases

Background Information

Animal domestication began over 10,000 years ago (National Geographic). "Animal domestication puts humans in closer, habitual physical contact with certain animals, and the waste and pathogens of those species (Harper and Armelagos, 2013). This close association also created larger continuous host pools for microorganisms capable of exploiting human and non-human mammal hosts (e.g. canines, bovids) (Harper and Armelagos). Domestication, therefore, is associated with historic and current pathogen spillover between human and non-human animals. “Some of these diseases have existed for millennia, whereas others are emerging or reemerging, gaining the ability to jump between species and overloading traditional methods of disease surveillance and prevention”(Cook et al.). This highlights how long diseases have been passed between humans and animals. This varies from being due to handling, to the consumption of the animal, as well as being bit by the animal. A very wide array of infectious diseases common to humans result from animal domestication.

Influenza

Influenza s a virus that is in humans as well as a variety of different animals such as horses and pigs (Harper et al.). A notable example of flu being passed is when humans passed the flu to pigs, this combined with a flu pigs already had, thus making swine flu (ECDC). Symptoms of influenza include fever, sore throat, muscle pain, and fatigue (CDC).

Measles

Measles is a disease that humans appear to have acquired from sheep and cows via communication of the Rinderpest virus (Harper et al.). Symptoms of measles include cough, fever, sneezing and Koplik’s spots which are small white spots that may form in a person’s mouth (CDC). The disease travels through the air from coughing and sneezing (CDC).

Staphylococcus Aureus

Staphylococcus Aureus is a bacteria that can cause a range of pathologies such as abscesses, respiratory infections like sinusitis, and food poisoning. Dogs, cats, chickens and horses can have the bacteria. Health-care worker dogs are one of the leading carriers of the bacteria. This bacteria is in 50% of humans but it normally is dormant and not affecting the person. It can be spread through wounds and using belongings like towels from infected people (CDC).

Rabies

Bats have been carriers to many diseases humans face. Such as different variants of coronaviruses, SARS, and rabies. Rabies is a viral disease that has affected a large range of domestic and non domestic animals. Africa and Asia are the continents with the longest history with rabies (Rupprecht et al.).

Trichinosis

Also known as Trichinella Spiralis, Trichinosis is a parasitic infection. This comes from consuming undercooked wild game meat such as bears, wild cats or dogs, foxes, etc (Dupouy-Camet). Trichinosis has existed for centuries, including being found in an Egyptian mummy. “Trichina spiralis (old nomenclature) was discovered and described in 1835 by two young English scientists: James Paget (1814-1899), a medical student, and Richard Owen (1804-1892), an assistant conservator at the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons…”(Dupouy-Camet). It was not connected to humans till 10 years later when it was detected in pork products. It affects the humans by maturing in the body, infecting the blood stream, and imbedding in the skeletal muscle (Dupouy-Camet). This causes symptoms including achy joints, headaches, nausea, sensitivity to light, itchy skin, muscle pain, cough, fever/fever like symptoms, and pain/swelling around face and eyes. In some cases it can even cause lack of coordination and lung/heart problems. Once larvae embed in the muscles, it cannot be cured, only the pain can be managed, In severe cases the disease can be fatal (Dupouy-Camet).

Psittacosis

Chlamydia psittaciis a type of bacteria that commonly infects birds (MN Dept. of Health). Less commonly, these bacteria can infect humans and cause a disease called Psittacosis. Psittacosis is known to cause mild illness or pneumonia, as well as general flu-like symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, and headaches (MN Dept. of Health). It is important to know that infected birds do not always show signs of disease. Infected birds spread the bacteria through their droppings and respiratory secretions, and the most common way for humans to get infected is by inhaling the dust particles emitted from the dried up secretions / droppings (MN Dept. of Health). As such, the most susceptible people to this illness are bird owners and people who handle birds. Psittacosis is most concentrated in European countries, including Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Sweden.

Cat Scratch Disease

Cat scratch disease, also called cat scratch fever, is a mild bacterial infection caused by Bartonella Henslee, which is most commonly spread to humans via cat bites/cat scratches (MN Dept of Health). The majority of healthy individuals do not develop any symptoms, and those with a mild infection often get better without any treatment (MN Dept. of Health). There is no human-to-human transmission of cat scratch disease, but it is known that fleas are responsible for transmitting Bartonella Henslee between cats (MN Dept. of Health). It is very difficult to know if a cat is infected since they generally do not show any signs of illness. When a human is infected with this disease, common symptoms include fever, headache, poor appetite, swollen lymph nodes near the infection site, and fatigue. As of 2016, incidences of CSD were highest among those who lived in the southern United States.

Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral infection that poses a significant public health threat, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes and is characterized by symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, joint and muscle pain, rash, and in severe cases, hemorrhagic fever shock syndrome, which can cause serious bleeding, a sudden drop in blood pressure and death (Mayo Clinic). Having a previous infection with the dengue fever virus makes you more susceptible to severe complications.Severe dengue fever can result in internal bleeding and damage to organs (Mayo Clinic). It can also cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure, leading to shock (Mayo Clinic).

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s Disease is a zoonotic disease that is caused by many factors. Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s Disease is a variant of prion disease, which although not very well understood variants of prion diseases are well observed and can be identified with brain samples collected post-mortem. The initial cause of the disease can be attributed to consumption of tainted meat, poor medical practices (such as inadequate sterilization of tools during neurosurgery, use of improperly sourced human growth hormone, and reuse of kits for lumbar punctures.), genetic inheritance, and can also be contracted sporadically. Although the most prominent cause of the disease cannot be identified, there is a heavy correlation drawn with the consumption of tainted beef. This beef is collected from cows struggling with another variant of prion disease, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or BSE for short. The contraction of BSE in cows is accepted to be caused by farmers using feed sourced from other diseased cows. People at the highest risk of this relatively rare disease are those with a familial history of neurological diseases, patients who are undergoing neurosurgery, and the elderly. Symptoms of this disease include amnesia, mental confusion, dementia, delusion, disorientation, incoherency or struggle in comprehension, lack of concentration, and a variety of muscular afflictions. This disease has no cure and is fatal.

Resources

Rupprecht, Charles E, et al. “A History of Rabies-the Foundation for Global Canine Rabies Elimination.” Rabies (Fourth Edition), Academic Press, 8 May 2020, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128187050000017.

Jean Dupouy-Camet. An Example of One Health Approach: A Timeline of the History of Trichinellosis Control. European Veterinary Parasitology Congress, Ecole Nationale vétérinaire Alfort (Radu Blaga), Jun 2023, Maisons Alfort, France. ⟨10.3406/bavf.2024.71069⟩. ⟨hal-04459098⟩

“Psittacosis (Chlamydophila Psittaci, Chlamydia Psittaci).” Psittacosis (Chlamydophila Psittaci, Chlamydia Psittaci) - MN Dept. of Health, www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/psittacosis/index.html. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.

“Cat Scratch Disease (Bartonella Henselae).” Cat Scratch Disease (Bartonella Henselae) - MN Dept. of Health, www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/bartonella/index.html. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.

“Dengue fever - Symptoms and causes.” Mayo Clinic, 5 October 2022, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dengue-fever/symptoms-causes/syc-20353078. Accessed 15 April 2024.

“Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: A case report” National Library of Medicine www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8559638/. Accessed 17 April 2024

“Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.” Mayo Clinic, 28, January 2023 www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/creutzfeldt-jakob-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20371226. Accessed 17 April 2024

“All about Bse (Mad Cow Disease).” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 23, July 2023www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/all-about-bse-ma d-cow-disease. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.

“Protein Misfolding and Aggregation in Proteinopathies: Causes, Mechanism and Cellular Response.” National Library of Medicine, 9 February 2023, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9944956/. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.

“Domestication.” Education, http://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/domestication/ Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.