A-Z Index × Submit A-Z Index × Submit A-Z Index Search Dropdown × Submit Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate Emerging Infectious Disease journal ISSN: 1080-6059 Disclaimer: Early release articles are not considered as final versions. Any changes will be reflected in the online version in the month the article is officially released.
Diseases transmitted through direct or indirect animal contact are a public health concern in the United States. Improvements in laboratory detection methods and illness estimates warrant an update of illness estimates linked to animal contact. We used surveillance data and other sources to estimate the annual number of US illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths for 7 pathogens. We adjusted for underreporting and underdiagnosis by using established methods. Campylobacter , Cryptosporidium , Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli , Listeria monocytogenes , nontyphoidal Salmonella , and non-pestis Yersinia caused an estimated 995,022 (90% credible interval [CrI] 476,251–1,833,238) animal contact illnesses around 2019. Together with Toxoplasma gondii , those illnesses caused an estimated 9,592 (90% CrI 5,603‒15,557) hospitalizations and 236 (90% CrI 119‒411) deaths in the United States. Increased awareness among health professionals, government officials, industry partners, and the public about animal contact as a mode of disease transmission can aid prevention efforts and enhanced surveillance.
Zoonotic diseases are spread between animals and humans, causing an estimated 60% of infectious diseases and 75% of emerging infectious diseases globally ( 1 ). Zoonotic diseases spread through direct or indirect animal contact, foodborne, waterborne, and vectorborne transmission ( 2 ). In this analysis, we focus on direct (e.g., touching animals) and indirect (e.g., contact with contaminated objects or environments) animal contact. An estimate published in 2012 attributed 14% of US enteric illnesses to animal contact, corresponding to an estimated 450,000 illnesses, 5,000 hospitalizations, and 70 deaths annually based on circa 2006 data ( 3 ).
Campylobacter outbreaks have been attributed to pet store puppies and raccoons from a wildlife rehabilitation center ( 4 , 5 ). Cryptosporidium ( 6 , 7 ) and Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) ( 8 – 12 ) outbreaks have been linked to farm animals, and nontyphoidal Salmonella outbreaks have been linked to pet hedgehogs ( 13 , 14 ), guinea pigs ( 15 , 16 ), live poultry ( 17 , 18 ), wild songbirds ( 19 ), dairy calves ( 20 ), and various reptiles and amphibians ( 21 – 29 ).
Toxoplasma gondii is an important parasitic pathogen; felids are definitive hosts ( 30 ). Transmission can occur through indirect animal contact through ingestion of environmentally matured oocysts from contaminated cat feces or soil ( 31 ). The prevalence of T. gondii infection in the United States is relatively low ( 32 ); however, serious health consequences linked to pregnancy and immune compromise underscore a need to better understand the proportions of hospitalizations and deaths that may be linked to animal contact ( 31 ).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated the estimates for 7 major foodborne pathogens by using improved methods ( 33 ). By using this methodology, we updated the estimated annual prevalence of US illnesses linked to animal contact for the pathogens from the previous animal contact estimates ( Campylobacter , Cryptosporidium , Listeria monocytogen…