Sick! Curious Tales of Pests & Parasites We Share with Animals

Posted by justinelee in Blog, Pet Health, Pet Product Reviews

I recently read the book Sick! Curious Tales of Pests and Parasites We Share with Animals published by Ontario Veterinary College (OVC). This book was compiled and edited by the Dean of OVC, Dr. Elizabeth Stone and Dr. Cate Dewey,  a professor of epidemiology and Chair of the Department of Population Medicine at OVC. Many of the contributing authors are veterinarians or PhD experts in their field.

This book is comprised of over 30 short stories about zoonotic diseases (those that can spread easily between humans and animals), such as Q-fever (commonly found in sheep), Ebola, beaver fever (Giardia), E.coli O157, to bird mites!

The reason why I was intrigued by this book? People often ask me if it’s okay for dogs to sleep in their children’s bed. My bias? Yes, as both my dog and two cats share mine. That said, this book brings up important aspects between the close interaction between animals, wildlife, humans and the pests or parasites that can affect our relationship with animals.

Often, pet owners forget about the critical role that veterinarians play in keeping us safe. Veterinarians are key in what we call One Health, which is an initiative to collaborate between human physicians, osteopaths, dentists, veterinarians, nurses, governing bodies (e.g., CDC, etc.) and those in the scientific, health, and environmentally-related disciplines. This relationship is key to help keep our humans, animals, environment and food sources safe.

My favorite story in Sick? The discovery of West Nile Virus by Cornell veterinary pathologist, former of the Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Society. Her battle with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and persistence to pursue additional testing with the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) was key in this pivot discovery of this flavivirus.

If you have an interest in public health or general gross stories of how diseases can spread between animals and humans, this book will keep you entertained with tails of microscopic bacteria, viruses, and parasites that surround us.

Now go scoop your dog’s poop, save the environment, and wash your hands.