Zoonoses
Animals can carry organisms that can be potentially harmful to humans. Use the recommended preventative handling measures for each type of animal to minimize your risk of injury. Contact BU ASC at buasc@bu.edu for training in handling of and working with research animals.
If you are injured in the course of handling research animals or have other health concerns about your work with them, please contact the Research Occupational Health Program (ROHP) at 617-414-7647 or rohp@bu.edu.
Reverse Zoonoses (people to animals)
| AGENT | HUMAN DISEASE | ANIMAL DISEASE | ANIMALS |
| Mumps virus | Mumps | Parotiditis | Dogs |
| Infectious hepatitis | Hepatitis | Hepatitis | NHP |
| Corynebacterium diphtheriae | Diphtheria | Ulcers on teats, mastitis | Cattle |
| Staphylococcus aureus | Furunculosis | Furunculosis, mastitis | Cattle |
| Streptococcus pyogenes | Pharyngitis, scarlet fever | Mastitis | Cattle |
| Giardia lamblia | Nausea, flatulence, diarrhea | None known | Beavers |
| Mycobacteria tuberculosis | Tuberculosis | Tuberculosis | Deer, dogs, elephants, NHP |
| Measles | Febrile, illness, rash | Febrile, illness, rash | NHP |
| Influenza | Febrile, illness, pneumonia | Febrile, illness, pneumonia | NHP, ferrets |
Zoonoses of Wildlife
| INFECTIOUS AGENT | PRIMARY HOST(S) | DISEASES IN ANIMALS | DISEASES IN PEOPLE |
| Alphaviruses: | |||
| Eastern encephalitis | Small birds, ducks, horses (mosquitoes) | No apparent disease; encephalitis | Encephalomyelitis |
| Western encephalitis | Birds, squirrels, snakes, horses (mosquitoes) | No apparent disease; horses die | Encephalomyelitis |
| Venezuelan encephalitis | Rodents, horses (mosquitoes) | No apparent disease; horses die | Encephalitis |
| Flaviviruses: | |||
| St. Louis encephalitis | Birds (mosquitoes) | No apparent disease | Encephalomyelitis |
| Japanese B encephalitis | Birds, pigs, horses, cattle (mosquitoes) | No apparent disease; domestic animals may die | Encephalitis |
| Murray Valley encephalitis | Birds (mosquitoes) | No apparent disease | Encephalomyelitis |
| Tick-born encephalitis | Rodents, birds, goats, cattle (ticks) | No known apparent disease | Encephalitis |
| Yellow fever virus | Nonhuman primates (mosquitoes) | No apparent disease; death | Yellow fever |
| Dengue viruses | NHP (mosquitoes) | No apparent disease | Dengue fever |
| Bunyavirus: | |||
| California encephalitis | Rabbits, hares, squirrels, deer, horses, cows (mosquitoes) | No apparent disease | Encephalitis |
| Hanta | Rodents, mice, rats | No apparent disease | Hanta pulmonary syndromw |
| Arenaviruses | Rodents, NHP | No apparent disease; death | No clinical disease; malaise, fever, shock, meningitis, encephalitis |
| Rabies virus | Weasel-skunk, civet-ferret, families with bats, foxes, skunks, most important; also dogs, cats, cattle | No apparent disease; death with paralysis | Excitation, paralysis, death |
| Colorado tick fever virus | Squirrels, chipmunks, mice, porcupines (ticks) | No apparent disease | Fever, malaise, leukopenia, rash |
| Chlamydia psittaci | Psittacine birds, pigeons, poultry | No apparent disease; death | Fever, cough, pneumonia |
| Rickettsia typhi | Rats (fleas) | No apparent disease | Murine typhus |
| Rickettsia rickettsii | Rabbits, squirrels, rats, mice, groundhogs, dogs (ticks) | No apparent disease; dogs may die | Rocky Mountain spotted fever |
| Rickettsia akari | Mice (mites) | No apparent disease | Rickettsialpox |
| Coxiella burnetii | Wild ungulates | No apparent disease | Q fever |
| Brucella spp | Wild ungulates, dogs | No apparent disease; abortion | Brucellosis |
| Francisella tularensis | Rabbits, squirrels, rats, skunks, bears, muskrats, coyotes, cats, dogs, swine, sheep, cattle (ticks, deerflies, mosquitoes) | No apparent disease; lymphadenitis, septicemia | Tularemia |
| Yersinia pestis | Rats, mice, prairie dogs, squirrels, marmots, rabbits, gerbils, chipmunks (fleas) | No apparent disease; death | Bubonic, pneumonic, septicemic plague |
| Yersinia enterocolitica | Rodents, rabbits, pigs, sheep, cattle, horses | No apparent disease | Enterocolitis, reactive polyarthritis |
| Campylobacter jejuni | Birds, cattle, sheep, pigs, goats | No apparent disease; death | Gastroenteritis |
| Pseudomonas pseudomallei | Rats, mice, rabbits, ruminants, dogs, cats, NHP | No apparent disease; death | Pulmonary abscesses, septicemia |
| Streptobacillus moniliformis | Rats, squirrels, weasels, turkeys | No apparent disease | Fever, rash |
| Listeria monocytogenes | Wild mammals, birds | No apparent disease; death | Meningitis, abortion, septicemia |
| Borrelia burgdorferi | Deer, mice, raccoons (ticks) | No known apparent disease | Lyme disease |
| Spirillum minor | Rats, mice, cats | No apparent disease | Fever, rash |
| Cryptosporidium spp | Rodents, snakes, birds | No apparent disease; enteritis, respiratory disease | Enteritis, dysentery |
| Blastocystitis hominis | Pigs, guinea pigs, fowl, NHP | No apparent disease; diarrhea | Diarrhea |
| Leishmania spp | Rodents, canines, rodents, other carnivores (sandflies) | No apparent disease; skin ulcers | Chronic skin ulcerations, mucocutaneous lesions, kalaazar syndrome |
| Trypanosoma cruzi | Armadillos, bats, rodents, opossums, NHP, dogs, cats (triatomes) | No known apparent disease; neurologic dysfunctions | Skin rash, myocarditis, conjunctivitis, myositis (Chagas disease) |
| Trypanosoma brucci var. gambiense and var. rhodesiense | Wild ungulates (tsetseflies) | No apparent disease; death in come | Meningoencephalitis |
| Pneumocystitis carinii | Rodents, foxes, NHP, sheep, goats, dogs, cats | No known apparent disease | Pneumonitis |
| Diphyllobothrium latum | Fresh-water fish, bears, dogs, cats | No known apparent disease | Tapeworm infection, megaloblastic anemia |
| Hymenolepis nana and diminuta | Mice, rats | Tapeworm infection | Tapeworm infection |
| Trichinella spiralis | Wild carnivores, wild pigs | No known apparent disease | No apparent disease; muscle invasion death |
| Fasciola hepatica | Snails, fish, cattle, sheep, goats, camel, deer, rabbits | No apparent disease; death | Acute hepatitis, cholecystitis, cirrhosis |
| Schistosoma spp | Snails, rodents, baboons | No apparent disease; death | Collitis, hepatitis, cystitis |
| Dracunculus medinesis | Wild carnivores, NHP (water fleas) | No known apparent disease | Skin ulcers |
| Brugia spp | NHP, wild carnivores, rodents (mosquitoes) | No known apparent disease | Lymphadenopathy, lymphadema |
Zoonoses of Domestic Animals
| INFECTIOUS AGENT | PRIMARY HOST(S) | DISEASES IN ANIMALS | DISEASES IN PEOPLE |
| Prions Bovine spongiform encephalopathy | Cattle | Fatal degeneration of CNC | Atypical Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease |
| Vaccinia virus (cowpox) | Cattle, horses | Papulo vesiculo pustular lesions of skin of udder and teats | Papulovesiculopustular skin lesions |
| Newcastle disease | Poultry | Respiratory, GI, CNS | Conjunctivitis |
| Paravaccinia virus (milker’s modules) | Cattle | Vesicles, ulcers, and granulomas of udder | Papulovesiculo granulomatous skin lesions |
| Bovine pustular stomatitis virus (orf, contagious ecthyma) | Sheeps, goats | Pustular lesions of mouth, vulva, eye | Papulovesiculo granulomatous skin lesions |
| Vesicular stomatitis virus | Cattle, swine, horses | Ulceration of oral mucosa, feet, and teats | Fever, chills, headache, myalgia |
| Rabies virus | Dogs, cats, cattle, horses, sheep | No apparent disease; death with paralysis | Excitation, paralysis, death |
| Chlamydia psittaci | Pigeons, poultry | No apparent disease; death | Fever, cough, pneumonia |
| Coxiella burnetii | Sheep, cattle, goats (? Ticks) | No disease; rickettsemia | Q fever |
| Ehrlichia canis | Dogs (ticks) | Hemorrhagic disease, death | Ehrlichiosis |
| Afipia felis | Cats, dogs | No known disease | Cat-scratch disease |
| Bartonella | Cats, dogs | No known disease | Cat-scratch disease, peliosis hepatis, bacillary angiomatosis |
| Bacillus anthracis | Cattle, horses, sheep, goats, swine, dogs, cats | Sudden death, systemic disease, GI affliction | Malignant pustule, gastroenteritis, pneumonitis |
| Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae | Swine, fowl, sheep, fish | Porcine erysipelas, polyarthritis, septicemia | Erysipeloid |
| Listeria monocytogenes | Sheep, cattle, rabbits, goats, guineau pigs, chickens, horses, rodents, birds | Meningoencephalitis, abortion, myocarditis, septicemia, ophthalmitis | Leptomeningitis, fetal listeriosis, septicemia, oculoglandular infection |
| Mycobacterium bovis | Cattle, horses, swine, cats, dogs | Pulmonary, lymph nodes, udder, GI tuberculosis, spondylitis | Primarily GI, lymph node, bone pulmonary tuberculosis |
| Streptobacillus moniliformis | Fowl | No apparent disease | Fever, rash |
| Pseudomonas mallei | Horses, mules, asses, cats, dogs, sheep, goats | Nodular pneumonia, farcy, lymphadenopathy | Granulomatous to pustular lesions, skin and subcutaneous; septicemia |
| Pasteurella multocida | Fowl, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mice, rats, rabbits | Hemorrhagic septicemia, pneumonia | Skin ulcer, osteomyelitis, sinusitis, pleuritis, leptomeningitis |
| Brucella spp | Cattle, goats, swine, sheep, horses, mules, dogs, cats, fowl, deer, buffalo, rabbits | Abortion lameness, mastitis, granulomas, abcessess | Fever, malaise, lymphadenopathy, bacteremia, splenomegaly, osteomyelitis |
| Capnocytophagia canimorsus | Dogs | No apparent disease | Fever, gengrene, meningitis, septicemia |
| Salmonella spp (nontyphoidal) | Fowl, swine, cattle, sheep, horses, dogs, cats, rodents, reptiles, birds, cattle | No apparent disease; enteritis, septicemia, puerperal fever | Gastroenteritis, focal infection, septicemia |
| Yersinia enterocolitica | Dogs, cats | No known disease | Diarrhea, reactive arthritis |
| Campylobacter fetus | Sheep, cattle | Metritis, infertility, placentitis, abortion | Placentitis with abortion, endocarditis, bacteremia, meningitis |
| Sporothrix schenckii | Horses, mules, dogs, cats, mice, rats | Granulomas of extremities | Ulcerative lymph-vascular, skin, subcutaneous lesions, pneumonia |
| Microsporum spp | Dogs, cats, horses, cattle | Alopecia, dermatitis | Alopecia, dermatitis |
| Trichophyton spp | |||
| Cryptosporidium spp | Farm animals, cats, dogs | No apparent disease; enteritis, respiratory disease | Enteritis, dysentery |
| Trypanosoma cruzi | Dogs, cats (triatomes) | No known apparent disease | Skin rash, myocarditis, conjunctivitis, myositis, neurologic dysfunctions (Chagas disease) |
| Balantidium coli | Pigs, monkeys | Stillbirth, congenital defects, CNS lesions | Stillbirth, congenital defects, retinochoroiditis, encephalitis |
| Toxoplasma goudii | Cats, dogs, sheep, cattle, swine | Stillbirth, congenital defects, CNS lesions | Stillbirth, congenital defects, retinochoroiditis, encephalitis |
| Ancylostoma canium (Uncinaria stenocephala) | Dogs, cats | Anemia, dystentery, hypoproteinemia, edema, stunted growth, death of pups | Itching, erythema of skin, Loeffler syndrome |
| Toxocara canis and cati | Dogs, cats | Diarrhea, granulomas in kidneys and other viscera, weight loss and stunted growth of young | Granulomas in liver, skeletal muscle, lungs, brain and eye |
| Dipylidium caninum | Dogs, cats | No apparent or known disease; chronic enteritis | Abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, anal pruritus |
| Trichinella spiralis | Swine, cattle, horses, dogs, cats, rabbits | No apparent or known disease | Chemosis, conjunctivitis, myositis, skin rash |
| Taenia saginata | Cattle | No apparent or known disease | Abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss |
| Tacunia solium | Swine | No apparent or known disease | Abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, cysticercosis |
| Diphyllobothrium latum | Dogs, cats | No apparent or known disease | Tapeworm infection, mealobastic anemia |
| Dirofilaria immitis, D tenuis | Dogs, raccoons, cast (mosquitoes) | Cardiopulmonary granulomata, subcutaneous nodules | Pulmonary nodules, subcutaneous granulomata of face, trunc, or arms |
| Echinococcus granulosus | Dogs | No apparent or known disease | Space-occupying cysts in liver, lungs; anaphylaxis |
| Echinococcus multilocularis and vogeli | Dogs, wild canines | No apparent disease | Noncapsulated, extensive cysts of liver, lungs |