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As the COVID-19 pandemic has been teaching us for more than two years and, more recently, the ‘monkeypox’ epidemic, the transmission of zoonotic diseases , that is, infectious pathologies transmitted from animals to humans, can have a great impact on our health —physical and mental—, on the economy, and on society in general.
Zoonoses and epidemics
Zoonoses are nothing new. Many of the great pandemics in the history of humanity are zoonotic: from the black plague to rabies . The appearance of new infectious diseases from animals has increased significantly in the last 40 years, in fact, currently, three out of four emerging infectious diseases are of zoonotic origin.
Since the HIV/AIDS pandemic was declared From 1981 to today, there have been 6 epidemics that have reached the rank of a pandemic: SARS in 2002, H5N1 in 2003, H1N1 in 2009, MERS, SARS-CoV2 and a new H5N1 pandemic in 2021. To these must be added multiple epidemics that have occurred with greater or lesser severity in more or less extensive areas of the world —and some are still present—, such as the emerging monkeypox or the Ebola outbreaks. All of them have zoonotic origin.
Wildlife is a huge reservoir of disease and, what is worse, often unknown.
One of the main causes of the appearance of these zoonoses is found in the expansion of human populations and the invasion of wild habitat, or changes in agricultural practices. But perhaps the most relevant factor, which is also totally avoidable, is the transport, trade and possession of wild fauna as pets —whether legally or illegally—.
The transport of animals and their diseases
The translocation of wild animals is directly associated with the spread of several zoonotic diseases. In the United States, rabies was introduced in the 1970s when it became fashionable to keep raccoons , which had been trapped in areas where the disease was endemic; Tanukis ( Nyctereutes procynoides ), widely used in exotic pets, have become carriers of rabies in Eastern Europe, and given their invasive nature, they are reintroducing the disease, along with raccoons, in places where rabies was almost eradicated
In 1994, a Belgian customs official ended up hospitalized with bilateral pneumonia, 10 days after exposure to illegally imported parakeets in the port of Antwerp, carrying psittacosis , a common disease among parrots, which can be transmitted to other birds. and to some mammals such as humans.
Exotic pets
The first cases of monkeypox in the United States are not recent. In 2002, an epidemic outbreak occurred that affected 93 people, after the importation of Gambian rats ( Cricetomys gambianus ) as pets, carriers of the disease, which infected prairie dogs ( Cynomys spp.) when they remained stored for a few hours. together with others.
A scientific article published in 2007 by the veterinarian Bruno B. Chomel and collaborators, in the prestigious scientific journal Emerging Infetious Diseases , already highlighted the risk that monkeypox would once again become a public health problem, since infected prairie dogs continued to be used as pets in the United States.
Fortunately, steps were taken in the United States to prevent a new epidemic from jumping from rodents to humans. However, since these measures are not universal, a new outbreak was only a matter of time; in this case, it has emerged in central Africa, where the disease is still endemic. The prediction has been fulfilled.
Another disease transmitted by pet prairie dogs is type B tularemia , caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis . African pygmy hedgehogs and iguanas have been involved in outbreaks of salmonellosis. In Brazil, between 1991 and 1998, eight cases of rabies caused by a new variant of the virus were reported, which arose from wild marmosets ( Callithrix jacchus ) captured and used as pets. And in 1999, an Egyptian rousette bat ( Rousettus egyptiacus ) in a pet store in the south of France, infected with Lagos bat lysavirus, forced 120 people into treatment.
Citizen awareness, the best prevention
When many people see exotic fauna, they often feel the desire to have a specimen. Either because of their appearance, because they arouse a certain sympathy, or because of the feeling of having something unique.
It is something that can be seen both in pet stores and at pet fairs. From recent news, we can cite the case of Suzie, a circus chimpanzee who lived on a farm in El Campello, Alicante; an African serval found in Altea, also Alicante, rescued by SEPRONA and sheltered by the Animal Advocacy and Protection (AAC) foundation; or two tigers deposited in inheritance at the end of 2021 on a farm in Albacete. Sad stories that have the same point in common: the use of wildlife as pets .
Fortunately, scientific evidence indicates that citizen awareness can be a powerful tool against these practices. When a person interested in an exotic pet is shown information about how to keep the animal in good condition, the legal consequences or the conservation of the species, the interest tends to drop – 18%, 16% and 19% respectively —. But when zoonosis risks are reported, interest in keeping such pets plummets 27%, on average. And it is something that happens regardless of the nationality or culture of the interested party.
In this context, the population is especially motivated to avoid the risk of zoonotic diseases; this makes this information highly relevant, and can facilitate the success of campaigns to reduce the demand for exotic fauna , particularly in the new ‘post-COVID’ scenario in which we live.
References:
Chomel, B. B. et al. 2007. Wildlife, Exotic Pets, and Emerging Zoonoses. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 13(1), 6-11. DOI: 10.3201/eid1301.060480 Moorhouse, T. P. et al. 2021. Information About Zoonotic Disease Risks Reduces
Desire to Own Exotic Pets Among Global Consumers. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9.
Souza, M. J. 2009. Bacterial and Parasitic Zoonoses of Exotic Pets. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice, 12(3), 401-415. DOI: 10.1016/j.cvex.2009.06.003
Zaid, G. 2022. Chapter 3 – Zoonotic infections. En A. I. Qureshi et al. (Eds.), Coronavirus Disease (pp. 21-28). Academic Press. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-824409-8.00008-4
