The 2019n-COV virus from China, also known as the Wuhan coronavirus, has raised concerns about the role of pets as a source of infections or in the spread of infections. Thankfully, there is currently no evidence for a role of pets in the COVID-2019 outbreak. However, there are diseases spread between animals and people. These
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Historians believe rats arrived in the new world as stowaways on the sailing ships of explorers like Christopher Columbus. These “colonist” rats brought diseases such a plague and typhus. A recently published study of rats in New York City “rats” on the veritable Noah’s Ark of organisms infecting these ubiquitous pests. Scientists ratting on the
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As parents, we want to raise children who have a reverence for all living things, and what better way to educate them about animals than to spend a day at a petting zoo, a country fair, or a natural science museum featuring live animal displays? Animal events are fun and educational for the entire family,
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Foodborne illness has been in the news all week. First, the massive multi-country European outbreak of E. coli has sickened over 1,000 people and killed more than 20. Closer to home, the United States Food and Drug Administration notified consumers of multiple recalls due to possible salmonella contamination in pig ear treats and a raw
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The evening news and the morning papers often carry stories about the scary “super bug” Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. These stories can be so frightening as reporters describe patients who have succumbed to overwhelming infections unresponsive to antibiotics. To make matters worse, MRSA was recently in the news again. This time, researchers are suggesting our
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