Introduction:
We take it for granted now, but if you compare modern life to life prior to our Civil War ... probably the most important change has not been all the cars, planes, space travel, toilets, elevators, sky scrapers, phones, televisions, computers and other incredible inventions ... but our ability to protect ourselves, our children, our livestock, and our pets from the infectious diseases that used to kill millions willy nilly.
Our defenses against the suffering and ravages of infectious diseases include:
- Government & academic medical, agricultural, and veterinary knowledge and vigilance around the world that help eradicate or at least contain disease outbreaks. The containment of "Mad Cow" disease is a recent example. Because of government veterinarians, farm veterinarians, and the Center for Disease Control only a few cases were successful in entering the United States and those few cases were quickly identified, traced, and eliminated.
- Sanitation, water treatment, rodent control, sewage systems, mosquito control programs, and our strict standards on the processing, handling, and refrigeration of our wholesome food supply are all a major part of preventing epidemics of infectious diseases. We take it all for granted.
- We have invented vaccines for many of the diseases that used to kill so many people and animals. For some diseases we have developed or are in the process of developing things like ultra-violet lights, ionizers, and various forms of radiation that may prove useful. Medical centers, veterinary and medical universities, and companies all over the world continue are busy trying to develop newer and better ways to protect us from diseases we're still vulnerable to such as HIV - AIDS, malaria, Herpes, and Leptospirosis
- We have an arsenal of antibiotics and treatment protocols ready for when these diseases get past our defenses. Our chances of surviving these once deadly diseases are now excellent in most cases.
Despite all the amazing and wonderful advances we have made, the struggle against infectious diseases is far from over, though.
Disease organisms keep mutating and as you know, the world is not an orderly place; disease epidemics break out where ever there is war, famine, lack of basic infrastructure, sewer systems, clean water, over population, lack of rodent or mosquito control, droughts, floods, monsoons, or pollution.
Infectious Diseases include diseases that spread from one animal to another caused by:
Bacteria
Virus'
Fungal, Yeast, and other misc Organisms
Sometimes these organisms are spread in the air, through bite wounds, by parasites, by direct contact, by urine or stool or mucus, or by close direct contact through sex
Most of the diseases we're going to discuss affect only cats or only dogs, but some are transferable from one species to another including HUMANS.
There isn't a day that goes by in our little practice where I don't see a pet suffering from at least one of these infectious diseases:
Lymes
This page is about the infectious ... often contagious diseases common in cats and dogs.
For many of the diseases we discuss on these pages, we have highly effective vaccines. 2-3 generations of veterinarians and multiple government sponsored programs have been encouraging the populace to vaccinate their pets. And because of this, diseases like rabies, distemper, lepto, parvo, and leukemia are no longer common causes of death and suffering in our pets ...except in those pets not vaccinated.
For other diseases discussed on these pages about infectious diseases, we have vaccines, but there's controversy about their reliability, need, effectiveness, duration of protection, and safety.
And for some diseases we have very little protection at all except for avoidance and parasite control
Infectious Diseases in Dogs & Cats
Colds, Distemper, Parvo, Lepto, Bruceellosis, Panleukopenia, Feline AIDS, Leukemia, Hepatitis, Kennel Cough, Ringworm, Rabies, FIP, Canine Herpes, Toxic Shock Syndrome, & More
