C.fighting the parasites that afflict dogs and cats is not only a good rule for their well-being but also for the health of all: men and women and especially children. Lthe Covid-19 pandemic has made familiar to everyone a concept such as the “species leap”, or “spillover”: a concept that should not be forgotten because it concerns us every day, as we caress ourselves towards our beloved animals.
These issues were at the center of the conference “Man-Animal-Environment: three faces of a single health to be protected” organized by MSD Animal Healtha leading company in animal health and prevention.
Leap of species: how to avoid it?
“We think of the human-animal interface as the cone of light from a street lamp on a dark night”, explains Gioia Capelli, National Reference Center for diseases in the human / animal / environmental interface of the IZS Venezie.
“Man is under the light, while in the dark there is a whole universe of pathogens that can potentially cause a leap of species“. A disturbing image? But that makes the idea.
A unique health against the leap of species
To prevent animal diseases from impacting public health, experts explain, an approach is needed that considers One Health, or Health Unica, the well-being of animals, humans and the environment. That is, it means making all the knowledge in the veterinary field available to the human counterpart, and vice versa.
The role of climate change
A few examples? West Nile Disease, a viral disease that accidentally passes to humans through the mosquito. But also the tick-borne diseases that disturb our dogs.
Climate change has affected their proliferation. In fact, they allow it to survive even in winter, as he explains Ezio Ferroglio, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin. There are active ticks in the mountains in December, January and February, which was not the case in the past. And this also affects man.
More and more people bitten by ticks
After the acute phase of the pandemic “Many more people than in the past went to the doctor or hospital for tick bites,” explains Renzo Scaggiante, of the San Martino di Belluno Hospital. «But it is essential to know the diseases they transmit, in order to be able to diagnose them in time.
Some Lyme Disease Diagnoses I am occurred for example after many months. For a doctor who practices his profession in the city it can in fact be difficult to interpret the symptoms, less so for one who resides in the mountains.
Late diagnosis
Something similar is true for Leishmaniasis, as he says Alessandro Bartoloni, University of Florence: “In Italy it is endemic and, if the diagnoses always arrive late, it means that there is still a lack of awareness, it means that there is still a lot to do and work on, especially in the field of general medicine”.
The dog, reservoir of parasites
The dog is the main reservoir of Leishmaniasis, but it is no longer the only one: today in Italy about 30% of lagomorphs (hares and rabbits) are positive, as well as many foxes and wolves. Suffice it to say that on the island of Montecristo, in Tuscany, where there are no dogs, the infection still spreads through rats.
Family members: but keep an eye on your health
Fundamental to create a concrete link between parasitic prevention carried out on dogs and public health. “Often we tend to establish an incorrect emotional relationship with our pets by attributing to them the role of children, a cultural error”, explains Gaetano Oliva, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, Federico II University of Naples. “This can lead to incorrect management of health problems”.
Dog-mistress tenderness (Getty photo)
Beware of children
“We often found ourselves confronted with several cases of children bitten by dogs living with them in the house”, also says Dr. Luisa Galli, of the University of Florence – Anna Meyer Children’s Hospital Florence: “For well-being of the whole family is even more important to do culture in the parasitological field. Often children with parasitic diseases such as leishmaniasis or malaria arrive in very serious conditions», A sign that the diagnosis was not made correctly and in a timely manner.
Not just dogs
The recommendation regarding the relationship with dogs naturally also applies to cats. And greater attention should also be paid to so-called synanthropic faunaalias all common wild species that live in close contact with humans, widespread in urban and rural areas (stray cats, pigeons, gulls, rats),
C.as we have learned in spite of ourselves and on our skin over the past two and a half years since leap of the Coranavirus species that led to the pandemicthe health of each of us is a global fact.
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