I'll probably jinx myself by saying this, but I never get sick. I am fortunate to be made of hearty stock I guess. My employees will all tell you-they have rarely seen me with a cold, I've never had the flu, and being the only doctor here, haven't had the luxury of "calling in sick" for a day or two, (but actually haven't ever needed to. Even when those nasty "bugs" go around the hospital, knocking everyone on their butts, my immune system seems to hold them off-pretty darned lucky. That is why, around 10 years ago, when I started feeling feverish and achy all over, I really wondered what was going on. I started sweating so much that my ears filled up with water-how gross is that?! I just saturated the sheets on my bed, began to cough violently and couldn't sleep. When I started having trouble breathing, I dragged myself to my doctor.
My doctor at the time was wonderful. She ordered up chest radiographs (x-rays) and they showed that my lung spaces were totally obliterated by fluid. I had pneumonia. My doctor wanted to hospitalize me, but I was dead set against that. I figured with my immune system being so challenged right then, the hospital was a pretty crummy place for me to be. I didn't want to be around a bunch of sick people! So my doctor had me come in daily for injections of high powered antibiotics.
You are probably wondering what I am doing telling you about MY illness. This is supposed to be a blog about veterinary stuff, right? Well, hang with me for a bit and you'll see a connection.
I remember this happened in the winter because my husband drove me to the doctors on Valentine's day to get a shot in the bum-how romantic! But those injections just didn't cut it. My fever climbed to over 105 degrees. I was kind of hallucinating. My doctor was frustrated. She ran blood work and repeated the chest films-there just wasn't any progress. Now my doctor knew what I did for a living, and she suspected I got myself exposed to some nasty animal organism, maybe one she wasn't as familiar with as I might be. She asked me if I had been around any "exotic" animals lately, and I really couldn't think of any-but I wasn't thinking too clearly. We got out my textbook on zoonoses-diseases animals and humans can transfer to each other. It is true that veterinarians study this topic in much greater depth than do human physicians.
One disease sparked our interest-psittacosis, an infectious disease carried by birds. I then remembered a young bird I had attempted to treat a couple weeks prior. In fact, I had given the bird, a beautiful white Cockatoo who was struggling to breathe, CPR-or mouth-to-beak resuscitation. I had likely inhaled some of the bacterial organisms into my own lungs during the procedure. The young bird didn't survive. Little did I know that the bird wanted to take me with her! Once we connected the dots, we realized all the fancy antibiotics weren't appropriate for my treatment (obviously-they weren't working!) The treatment for psittacosis in humans as well as in animals is a very old, very common antibiotic called tetracycline. No more shots in the bum! Just a day or two after starting these antibiotics my fever came down and I started to breathe much easier. I don't often get sick, but when I do, watch out!
Zoonoses, those diseases we humans share with animals, are actually quite common. Intestinal parasites such as roundworms and hookworms can be shared across species. Dermatophytosis or ringworm (not actually a worm but a fungal organism) is a highly contagious skin disease seen frequently in cats (but again can cross many species.) Bartonella or cat scratch fever is a nasty bacteria that makes cat bites and scratches so serious. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease is the fatal disease associated with eating affected beef. Rabies is the viral neurologic disease we vaccinate most of our pets against, primarily for human health reasons. The list goes on and on.
There is some great information about zoonotic diseases at the website for the Center for Disease Control (CDC):
http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/
The American Veterinary Medical Association has public health information at:
http://www.avma.org/public_health/default.asp
Make sure your pet is healthy and stays that way by working closely with your veterinarian. Yearly examinations, current vaccinations and regular deworming protocols will go a long way towards lowering your risks (and maybe think twice before giving CPR to a dying Cockatoo!)
Peace,
DrReneigh
2 comments:
Talk about risking life and limb for your patients! This was a fascinating read, but it sounds like a perfectly awful infection whether you're a human or a cockatoo.
I read your comment below about human health care vs pet health care. That's a discussion I'd love to have with you - I know so many people who struggle with the human health care system, and while they don't always get the best of care, there is at least lip service paid to the universal value of human life. I don't think that's always the case with animals, which I know you've come up against personally (such as with Lucy, the dog you blogged about a while ago). I wonder if either problem is one we'll see solved in our lifetimes.
There you go making me think again! This mama's noggin isn't used to that after being stuck at home for so many days!
I sure appreciate your thoughtful comments, Amy. I bet you have seen a lot of struggles with the health care system. Yes, Lucy was one horrible example of the low regard for life some people have. We can just do our best for each individual animal (or human!) that comes our way-and pray that it is enough.
Merry Christmas! Dr. R
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