Z is for...

... Zoonosis

The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?

---Edgar Allan Poe

Judgment Day

Ending this year's A-Z on a morbidly good note, I introduce to you, Zoonosis!

This cool little name is given to the process whereby humans contract certain diseases from other non-human animals or where non-human animals contract diseases from humans....since we learned all about sharing in preschool----

And, boy, do we know how to share! In a review of over 1,100 pathogens, an incredible 61% were Zoonotic. So, for all those elitists out there who declare humans 'above' animals, looks like we're lumped right in with them when you're talking about exciting things like disease control.

Partial list of Zoonoses

I'm not going to list all the crazy diseases out there that we share with our furry, and not-so-furry neighbors. The list is depressingly long, and though this month's blog is all about the morbid/macabre, I really don't want to send anybody into shock.....just click on the handy little chart to the right to enlarge a partial list (most of which you're probably already familiar with).

There is an emerging field of conservation medicine which combines human medicine with veterinary medicine in an effort to combat Zoonoses. So the next time you suffer from a bit of the flu, you might find yourself in line with your family pooch at the local vet's office--- I'd be fine with that, as long as they don't expect me to sit-up-and-beg for my antibiotics!