Download Pierce County Environmental Health Indicators ZOONOTIC DISEASES

Pierce County Environmental Health Indicators
ZOONOTIC DISEASES
Number of bites reports
Animal Bites Reported in Pierce County
Data Source: Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. Reported cases may represent a fraction of the
actual number, since many people probably don’t report bites or seek treatment.1
Hazards
Rabies virus is the primary hazard. Injury and other
infections are other hazards.2
Exposure and sources
Contact with domestic and wild animals, especially bats.
The main sources of the rabies virus in our area are
bats:
• In Washington State about 5-10% of sick and
injured bats tested and less than 1% of healthy
bats are infected with rabies.
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• In Pierce County about 40-50 animals are tested
for rabies each year. Since 1982, one or two bats
have tested positive for rabies most years.
• The last suspected rabid dog was identified in
Pierce County in 1987.3
Body Burden
Policy Actions
Most rabies cases are fatal to people.
Pet vaccinations, animal control programs, maintenance
of rabies laboratories, and subsidizing rabies treatments
have lowered the number of people with dying from
rabies to an average of 2 or 3 per year in the US.6
Human Health
Rabies is a severe viral disease that affects the central
nervous system. Symptoms normally begin 2 - 8 weeks
after exposure:
• Early symptoms include headache and fever.
• The disease rapidly progresses into a severe illness,
which may include agitation, confusion, paralysis,
and difficulty swallowing.
• Once symptoms develop, most patients then die
within a few days or weeks.
Both of the people in Washington State infected with
bat rabies virus died, in 1995 and 1997.4
Economic Impacts
Rabies prevention and control costs an estimated $300
million per year in the US. Costs are shared by health
agencies, universities, veterinarians, humane societies,
and individuals. They often don’t have enough money to
pay for testing and treatment.5
Personal Actions
Avoid contact with domestic and wild animals that might
bite you.
• Leave domestic animals alone if you don’t know
them.
• Leave wild animals alone - do not keep them as
pets or handle them.
• Leave bats alone – do not handle them. Although
they help by eating a lot of mosquitoes, they are
the main source of rabies virus in Washington
State.
Protect pets and people – get pets vaccinated routinely.
Consult your veterinarian.
If you are bitten:
• Clean the site of any animal bite with soap and
water.
• Immediately contact the Tacoma-Pierce County
Health Department and your health care provider to
find out if you need treatment, and if you should
have the animal tested for rabies.
Resources
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department Zoonotic Disease
Program: For information or to report animal bites:
253 798-7694
Photo of several fruit bats hanging
upside down on a tree limb
Veterinary Newsletters: www.tpchd.org/page.php?id=322
Washington State Department of Health Zoonotic Disease
Program: For information call (360) 236-3372 or go to
www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/TS/zoo.htm
Rabies fact sheet: http://www.doh.wa.gov/EHSPHL/factsheet/rabiesfct.htm
Center for Disease Control and Prevention Rabies Web
pages: www.cdc.gov/rabies/
1 www.doh.wa.gov/notify/survdata/survdata.htm Pierce County health care providers, hospitals, and
veterinarians are required to notify the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department of animal bites to
humans.
2 For more information see www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/animalbites.html
3 www.doh.wa.gov/EHSPHL/factsheet/rabiesfct.htm
4 “The Ascension of Wildlife Rabies: A Cause for Public Health Concern or Intervention?” at
5 www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol1no4/rupprech.htm
6 www.cdc.gov/rabies/epidemiology.html
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Pierce County Environmental Health Indicators
ZOONOTIC DISEASES
West Nile Virus In Pierce County
Data Source: Washington State Department of Health. Cases may represent a fraction of the actual number,
since sick people do not always seek treatment and healthcare providers and others do not always recognize,
test for, or report notifiable conditions. 1
Hazard
West Nile Virus.
Exposure and sources
People, horses, birds, and other animals are exposed to
West Nile virus by being bitten by infected mosquitoes.
Only certain species of mosquitoes carry the virus and
very few mosquitoes are actually infected. A mosquito
becomes infected by feeding on an infected bird.
Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water, and are more active
during dawn and dusk. Mosquito-borne diseases spread
most during more humid, warmer, and wetter months.
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Climate changes may result in longer breading seasons.
People can also get West Nile virus from organ transplants and blood transfusions, which are now screened.
Body Burden
Antibodies and “memory” white blood cells remain in a
person’s body for years.3
Human Health
Policy Actions
About 20% of people infected with West Nile virus will
show symptoms:
Since 2002 state and local health departments and
others have been:
• Most of these people will develop West Nile Fever,
with mild symptoms such as fever, headaches,
body aches, and swollen glands that normally last
a few days.
• About 1 out of 150 infected people will have
serious symptoms, such as high fever, headaches,
tremors, paralysis, and coma.
• A few may develop encephalitis (inflammation of
the brain) or meningitis (inflammation of the lining
of the spinal cord and brain). People over age 50
have the highest risk for serious illness.4
Economic Impacts
In 2007 the Washington State Department of Health
spent almost $3000 on equipment and shipping, to
collect and test 6 mosquito pools and 62 dead birds in
Pierce County. Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department
West Nile Virus staff costs were about $55,000 in
2007. If a West Nile Virus outbreak hits Pierce County
or Washington State, all costs will shoot up.5 For example, costs for the Louisiana West Nile Virus epidemic
from June 2002 to February 2003 were estimated at
over $20 million.6
• Trapping, identifying, and testing mosquitoes and
dead birds
• Communicating information about the virus and
how to control mosquitoes with health care
providers, veterinarians, and the public.7
Personal Actions
Reduce mosquito habitat where larvae can grow:
• Empty stagnant water, clean clogged gutters,
remove old tires and debris
• Ensure wetlands are healthy habitat for mosquito
predators.
Prevent mosquito bites:
• Repair torn screens
• Avoid places with a lot of mosquitoes, when they’re
most active: dawn and dusk
• Wear long sleeves, long pants, and a hat when
there are mosquitoes around
• Consider using mosquito repellant products with
the active ingredient "DEET."
Leave bats alone – some carry rabies, but they eat thousands of mosquitoes each day.
Resources
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department Zoonotic Disease
Program: For information or reporting dead birds:
253 798-6578, www.tpchd.org/WNV
Photo of a screen door on the
front porch of a house
Washington State Department of Health West Nile Virus
Program: Toll Free Hotline: 1-866-78VIRUS,
www.doh.wa.gov/WNV
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
West Nile Virus home page:
www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm
Maps and data:
www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/surv&control.htm
1 Health care providers, hospitals, laboratories, and veterinarians are required to report suspected and con
firmed cases of West Nile Virus cases to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, who report cases
to the Washington State Department of Health. www.doh.wa.gov/notify/survdata/survdata.htm
2 “A human disease indicator for the effects of recent global climate change,” Patz, 2002.
www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/99/20/12506
3 www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/transmission.htm
4 www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/transmission.htm
5 Personal Communication, Dorothy Tibbetts, Washington State Department of Health.
6 www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no10/03-0925.htm
7 www.doh.wa.gov/WNV “What is being done in Washington?”
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Pierce County Environmental Health Indicators
ZOONOTIC DISEASES
Number of People Dead
Avian Flu H5N1 Virus Deaths Worldwide
Data Source: World Health Organization (WHO): Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases of Avian
Influenza A/(H5N1) Reported to WHO.1 No cases or deaths from H5N1 avian influenza virus have been
reported in the U.S., as of May 2008.
Hazard
The H5N1 avian influenza virus.2
Exposure and Sources
Avian flu viruses are transmitted among birds through
respiratory secretions and bird droppings. People can be
infected with the H5N1 avian flu virus through close
contact with infected birds, or eating improperly cooked
infected birds.
The virus could develop into a form that spreads more
easily from person to person, triggering a global health
crisis known as a pandemic.3
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Body Burden not known.
Human Health
Symptoms of avian flu range from typical flu-like symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches, to
eye infections, pneumonia, viral pneumonia, and other
severe and life-threatening complications.4 Most reported avian flu cases have been among children and adults
under 40 years old. About 60% of reported cases have
died.5
Economic Impacts
Resources
An avian flu pandemic in Pierce County is predicted to
result in high health care costs and lost productivity,
and widespread social and economic disruption for
weeks and possibly months.6 An avian flu pandemic
among humans could cost the global economy $800
billion a year.7
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department Avian/Pandemic
Flu: www.tpchd.org/pandemic,
253 798-6500
In South-East Asia losses to the poultry industry were
estimated to be more than $10 billion by mid-2005.8
The poorest households are most dependent on poultry
income.9
Policy Actions
• In Washington State, Agriculture and Fish &
Wildlife agencies have set up surveillance programs
to detect H5N1 avian flu virus in domestic poultry
or wild birds.
Washington State Department of Agriculture:
http://agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/AnimalHealth/Diseases/
AvianInfluenza/default.asp
360 902-1878
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife:
http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/avian_flu/index.htm,
509 892-1001, ext. 326
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web page:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/
General information for entire agency: 800-CDC-INFO
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Early Detection Data
System: http://wildlifedisease.nbii.gov/ai/
• International, federal, state, and local health
agencies and others have been planning how to
help stop an avian flu outbreak and prevent a
pandemic.
Personal Actions
Everyone:
• Help prevent the spread of germs - wash your
hands and cover your cough.
Businesses, health care providers, schools, churches,
and others:
• Find out how to plan for a pandemic. Contact
Charron Plumer at 253 798-4772.
Photo of a woman coughing and
holding her chest
Bird owners:
• Report signs of unusual illness among birds, such
as sneezing, coughing, nasal discharge, diarrhea,
listlessness and sudden death to:
—Washington State Department of Agriculture
Veterinarian’s office: 360 902-1878
—Your private veterinarian
1 http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2008_04_30/en/index.html
2 http://wdfw.wa.gov/factshts/avian_flu.htm
3 http://wdfw.wa.gov/factshts/avian_flu.htm
4 www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/gen-info/avian-flu-humans.htm
5 www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/outbreaks/current.htm#humans
6 www.tpchd.org/files/library/8371719bf3b552cc.pdf
7 “Avian Flu: Economic Losses Could Top US$800 Billion,” http://web.worldbank.org
8 “Economic Impact of Avian Flu,” http://web.worldbank.org
9 http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEAPHALFYEARLYUPDATE/Resources/EAP-Brief-avian-flu.pdf
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