Wildlife Diseases Nassau County, Long Island, New York

Not A Wildlife Rescue Service
Please NO Dog or Cat Calls

Wildlife diseases can cause considerable sickness and death to individual animals and can seriously affect wildlife populations. Wild animals can also serve as hosts for diseases that affect humans. The disease agents or parasites that cause these zoonotic diseases can be contracted from wild animals directly by bites or contamination, or indirectly through the bite of insect vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, and mites that have previously fed on infected wildlife. Animal trappers and other individuals who work directly with wildlife have a greater risk of acquiring these diseases directly from animal hosts or their ectoparasites.

DIRECTLY TRANSMITTED WILDLIFE DISEASES

Rabies

Rabies is an acute fast-acting zoonotic disease caused by a virus, that can infect all warm-blooded mammals, and is usually fatal. Certain mammals such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats are the usual animal hosts. These wild animals are considered to be the primary carriers of the rabies virus in the United States. The rabies virus occurs throughout most of the world; only Australia and Antarctica are rabies-free. Most human cases have been contracted from dogs infected with the rabies virus. In the United States, human rabies cases have decreased to an average of one person per year. Reduction in human rabies is most probably linked with the intensive control of canine rabies during the 1950s and 1960s through massive vaccination campaigns, stray dog control projects, and improvement in human medical treatment following rabies exposure. Nevertheless, 40,000 people in the United States receive a rabies prevention treatment called post-exposure prophylaxis every year for possible exposure to the rabies virus via animal bites. The majority of the treatments are still due to dog and cat bites; however, these domestic animal species have the lowest occurrence of reported rabies among all animal species tested.

Once the rabies virus enters the animal's body, it replicates in the muscle tissues and then spreads to the nerve fibers, including all peripheral, sensory and motor nerves. The virus then spreads from the peripheral nervous system to the central nervous system. Rabies is considered almost always fatal once clinical signs develop. The disease progresses rapidly following the appearance of clinical signs, and the animal dies within a few days. Although abnormal behavior is not diagnostic for rabies, abnormal behavior and signs develop following brain infection, and rabies should be suspected whenever wild animals display bizarre behavior.

Animals infected with rabies usually display either "furious" or "paralytic" rabies, although some animals progress through both stages. Skunks, raccoons, foxes, and other canids usually have furious rabies and are excessively aggressive before convulsions and paralysis set in. Some animals, however, have paralytic rabies and proceed to tremors and convulsions without agitation or aggressive behavior. Other behavioral changes include friendliness or loss of fear, appearance in the daytime for some typically nocturnal species, unprovoked attacks on anything that moves, confusion, and aimless wandering. Abnormal barking, crying, and frothing at the mouth are additional signs, which are the result of paralysis of the throat muscles. Occasionally, rabid bats are encountered fluttering on the ground, which should not be handled because they can still bite and transmit rabies. Rabies should be suspected in domestic animals if there is any change in normal habits, such as sudden change in temperament, failure to eat or drink, walking into objects, or paralysis.

The rabies virus is transmitted primarily via the saliva during the bite from a rabid animal. However, other methods of transmission of rabies are possible. Accidental exposure of wounds or cuts to the saliva or tissues of rabies infected animals can occur. The rabies virus is also present in several body organs of infected animals, especially the brain and salivary glands, which poses a health risk to people who are field dressing or performing necropsies on these rabid animals. In addition, aerosol exposure has occurred, although rarely, in caves containing very large populations of rabies-infected bats. Transmission between animals also occurs by ingestion of rabies-infected tissues and by transplacental passage to offspring.

Do not approach an animal that is suspected to be rabid, since many are still aggressive and can bite even if paralyzed. Contact a nuisance wildlife control operator at Nassau County Animal Control to have the animal safely removed. If the rabid animal is still alive, it will be humanely euthanized without damaging the head. To confirm whether an animal is infected with the rabies virus, the animal will be submitted to the Nassau County Board of Health for testing.

First aid should immediately be provided to a person or domestic animal who has been bitten by a wild animal. Scrub the exposed site, including bite wounds, with soap and water and flush thoroughly. Then apply a topical antiseptic to prevent infection. First aid treatment is the most effective method of preventing infection by the rabies virus, but should not preclude medical attention from a physician, or veterinarian.

Hantavirus

Hantavirus is a virus that is found in the urine, saliva, or droppings of infected mice and rats. Hantavirus causes a rare but serious lung disease called Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). The virus can be contracted through inhalation of respirable droplets of saliva or urine, or through the dust of feces from infected rodents. Transmission of the virus can also occur when contaminated material gets into broken skin, or possibly, ingested in contaminated food or water. Symptoms of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome appear within one to five weeks after exposure. Early symptoms may include fever, chills, headaches, vomiting, muscle aches, nausea, tachycardia, gastrointestinal problems, and shortness of breath. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome progresses rapidly and infected people will have an abnormal drop in blood pressure and their lungs will fill with fluid. Respiratory failure, resulting in death occurs in approximately forty percent of the people who contract the disease.

Trichinosis

Trichinosis is a type of roundworm infection. Roundworm parasites live in and reproduce in the body of the host. Infection occurs primarily among carnivores such as bears, cougars, coyotes, and foxes, or omnivores such as domestic pigs, wild boar, and raccoons. The Trichinosis infection is acquired via consuming roundworm larvae in raw or undercooked meat. When people consume undercooked meat containing Trichinella larvae, the larvae mature over several weeks into adult worms in the intestine. The adult worms then produce larvae that travel through numerous tissues, including muscle.

MOSQUITO TRANSMITTED WILDLIFE DISEASES

Encephalitis

Encephalitis is an arbovirus transmitted by mosquitoes that result in inflammation of the brain tissue. Infections range from mild, nonspecific illnesses to periodically severe illness of the central nervous system resulting in permanent neurological impairment and potentially death.

West Nile Virus

West Nile Virus is also an arbovirus that can be fatal among the elderly and people with compromised immune systems. These viruses naturally infect a diverse population of birds and mammals and are transmitted between animals via mosquito vectors.

TICK TRANSMITTED WILDLIFE DISEASES

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted to humans and domestic animals via the deer tick. Wild animals and birds are often carriers of the bacteria but don't develop Lyme disease. The bacteria have been found in rabbits, coyotes, chipmunks, mice, rats, shrews and raccoons. Antibiotics are used in the treatment of Lyme disease in both humans and domestic animals.

FLEA TRANSMITTED WILDLIFE DISEASES

Plague is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis that affect humans and other mammals. Humans usually become infected after being bitten by a rodent flea that is carrying the plague bacterium. In the absence of treatment, the disease can result in serious illness or death. The Bubonic plague killed millions of people during the Middle Ages. Today, antibiotics are effective in treating plague.

RODENT TRANSMITTED WILDLIFE DISEASES

Rat-bite Fever

Rat-bite fever is caused by the bacteria Streptobacillus moniliformis, which is found in the oral cavity of rats. Symptoms of rat-bite fever include fever, vomiting, headache, rash, muscle and joint pain. Without proper treatment, rat-bite fever can result in severe disease and death.

Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic bacterial disease that affects both humans and animals. Human cases of leptospirosis result from direct or indirect contact with infected urine of rodents and other animals, such as raccoons. Without treatment, this disease can lead to kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death.

Salmonellosis

Salmonella bacteria is commonly transmitted via food contamination by mouse, rat, or bird droppings. Salmonellosis can lead to severe cases of food poisoning, blood poisoning, and death. Food poisoning, the most common ailment, is distinguished by a sudden onset of abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Rickettsialpox

Rickettsialpox resembles chicken pox and is transmitted from house mice to humans via mites. It is a mild nonfatal disease that generally resolves within two to three weeks if untreated.

BIRD TRANSMITTED WILDLIFE DISEASES

Histoplasmosis

Is a lung disease, which is caused by inhaling fungal spores found in bird and bat droppings. Most cases of histoplasmosis do not require medical attention. However, for infants, the elderly and people with weak immune systems, this pulmonary disease can cause a number of life-threatening complications. Complications of this lung infection can include, Acute respiratory distress syndrome, heart problems, adrenal insufficiency, and meningitis.

Cryptococcosis

Is a disease, which is caused by the inhalation of fungus that is associated with several bird species, especially pigeon droppings, but also starling, sparrow, and bat droppings. Cryptococcosis results in lung infection that may spread to the brain, causing meningoencephalitis. People with compromised immune systems are at risk of contracting this lung disease. Cryptococcosis is most frequently found in cats but has been reported in other domestic animals including dogs.

Psittacosis

Is a zoonotic infectious respiratory disease that is also known as Ornithosis and Parrot fever. The disease primarily affects parrots but is seen in other birds including pigeons. This bacterial disease is caused by inhaling dried airborne bird feces and usually leads to mild pneumonia or flu-like infection.