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Precautions Against Diseases
Diseases of wildlife can cause significant illness and death to individual
animals and can significantly affect
wildlife populations. Wildlife species
can also serve as natural hosts for certain diseases that affect humans (zoonoses). The disease agents or parasites
that cause these zoonotic diseases can
be contracted from wildlife directly by
bites or contamination, or indirectly
through the bite of arthropod vectors
such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, and
mites that have previously fed on an
infected animal. These zoonotic diseases are primarily diseases acquired
within a specific locality, and secondarily, diseases of occupation and avocation. Biologists, field assistants,
hunters, and other individuals who
work directly with wildlife have an increased risk of acquiring these diseases
directly from animal hosts or their ectoparasites. Plague, tularemia, and
leptospirosis have been acquired in the
handling and skinning of rodents, rabbits, and carnivores. Humans have
usually acquired diseases like Colorado tick fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Lyme disease because
they have spent time in optimal habitats of disease vectors and hosts.
Therefore, some general precautions
should be taken to reduce risks of
exposure and prevent infection.
Use extreme caution when approaching or handling a wild animal that looks sick or abnormal to guard
against those diseases contracted
directly from wildlife. Procedures for basic personal hygiene and cleanliness of equipment are important for any
activity but become a matter of major health concern when handling animals or their products that could be infected with disease agents. Some of the
important precautions are:
- Wear protective clothing, particularly disposable rubber or plastic gloves, when dissecting or skinning wild animals.
- Scrub the work area, knives, other
tools, and reusable gloves with soap
or detergent followed by disinfection with diluted household bleach.
- Avoid eating and drinking while
handling or skinning animals and
wash hands thoroughly when finished.
- Safely dispose of carcasses and tissues as well as any contaminated
disposable items like plastic gloves.
- Cook meat from wild game thoroughly before eating.
- Contact a physician if you become
sick following exposure to a wild
animal or its ectoparasites. Inform
the physician of your possible exposure to a zoonotic disease.
Precautions against acquiring fungal
diseases, especially histoplasmosis,
should be taken when working in
high-risk sites that contain contaminated soil or accumulations of animal
feces; for example, under large bird
roosts or in buildings or caves containing bat colonies. Wear protective
masks to reduce or prevent the inhalation of fungal spores.
Protection from vector-borne diseases
in high-risk areas involves personal
measures such as using mosquito or
tick repellents, wearing special clothing, or simply tucking pant cuffs into
socks to increase the chance of finding
crawling ticks before they attach. Additional preventive methods include
checking your clothing and body and
your pets for ticks and removing the
ticks promptly after returning from infested sites. If possible, avoid tick-infested areas or locations with intense
mosquito activity during the transmission season. Reduce outdoor exposure
to mosquitoes especially in early
evening hours to diminish the risk of
infection with mosquito-borne diseases. For more information about vector-borne diseases please visit, Purdue University's Public Health and Medical Entomology website.
Equally important preventive measures are knowledge of the diseases
present in the general area and the specific habitats and times of year that
present the greatest risk of exposure.
Knowledge of and recognition of the
early symptoms of the diseases and
the conditions of exposure are essential in preventing severe illness. Also
important are medical evaluation and
treatment with proper antibiotics. For
example, if you become ill following
some field activity in a known plague-endemic area and you recognize the
early symptoms of the disease, seeking
medical care and informing the attending physician of your possible exposure to plague will aid in the correct
treatment of your illness and reduce
the risk of complications or even
death.
In addition to taking personal precautions, risk of acquiring vector-borne
diseases can be reduced in specific
locations through area-wide applications of insecticides to control mosquito or flea vectors or acaricides to
control tick vectors. Reduction in host
populations (for example, rodents) and
their ectoparasites (fleas or ticks) may
be needed to control transmission of
such diseases as plague or Lyme
disease. Vaccination of wildlife hosts
as a means of reducing zoonotic diseases is currently being investigated
and may soon be available for diseases
like rabies.
Wildlife workers tend to ignore the
risks associated with handling wildlife
species and working in natural environments. Diseases of wildlife or
diseases present in their habitats can
infect humans and some can cause
serious illness or even death. Becoming aware of the potential diseases
present and taking precautions to
decrease exposure will greatly reduce
chances of becoming infected with one
of these diseases. This section provides
a description of the major zoonotic
diseases of wildlife in the United States
that can also infect humans and gives
information on disease prevention.
You can prevent infection with zoonotic diseases and reduce the seriousness of an illness by observing the
following recommendations:
- Become aware of which zoonotic
diseases are present in your area
and their clinical symptoms.
- Obtain any preexposure vaccinations that are available, particularly
for rabies.
- Take personal precautions to reduce
exposure to disease agents and
vectors such as ticks, mosquitoes,
and fleas.
- Practice good sanitation procedures
when handling or processing
animals or their products.
- If you become ill, promptly seek
proper medical treatment and
inform the physician about possible
exposures.
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