Animal-Related Health Risks
Course #54924 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
There are many potential diseases, or zoonoses, that can spread from animals to humans, and the public has many misconceptions about what to do after a potential exposure to a zoonotic source. With basic precautions, most zoonoses are preventable or avoidable. In this course, methods of prevention are discussed as well as general treatment guidelines. Patient education points are also included, as it is an important part of the process of preventing exposure to zoonoses.
- INTRODUCTION
- HISTORY
- DEFINITIONS
- CLASSIFICATION AND REPORTING
- TICKBORNE DISEASES
- VIRAL ZOONOTIC DISEASES
- PROTOZOAL ZOONOTIC DISEASES
- BACTERIAL ZOONOTIC DISEASES
- PARASITIC ZOONOTIC DISEASES
- CONSIDERATIONS FOR NON-ENGLISH-PROFICIENT PATIENTS
- CONCLUSION
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This course is designed for dental professionals involved in identifying, treating, and preventing zoonotic diseases, including West Nile virus, Lyme disease, and avian influenza.
The purpose of this course is to increase the awareness of zoonotic diseases and their management in both prevention and care. There are many potential diseases that can spread from animals to humans, and with basic precautions, most zoonoses are preventable or at least avoidable. The public has many misconceptions about what to do after a potential exposure to a zoonotic source, and healthcare professionals are often the first to help and answer questions.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Reflect on the history of zoonotic diseases.
- Define the hosts and host characteristics associated with zoonotic diseases.
- Compare the types of vectors and transmission of zoonotic diseases.
- Discuss the classification of zoonotic diseases.
- Identify the common pathogens involved in the spread of infection from animals to humans.
- Discuss the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease.
- Outline characteristics and treatment of other tickborne zoonotic diseases, including tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), and ehrlichiosis.
- Discuss the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of West Nile virus infection.
- Describe the characteristics and treatment of other viral zoonotic diseases, including avian influenza.
- Discuss the background, clinical presentation, and prevention of bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE) and its resulting disease in humans, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).
- Identify some of the common protozoal zoonotic diseases.
- Describe the characteristics and treatment of anthrax infection.
- Identify other common bacterial zoonotic diseases, including cholera.
- Recall the characteristics of common parasitic zoonotic diseases and appropriate treatment.
- Outline the role of an interpreter in treating non-English-proficient patients.
Sharon Holt, DVM, MBA, ADN, graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor's degree in fine art in 1977. She returned to Greater Hartford Community College and she earned an Associate degree in nursing in 1979. She later received a Master's in business administration in marketing management in 1983 from University of Hartford. She received her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1997. Dr. Holt has been working in wildlife medicine for more than 15 years and has lectured on the subject at the University of Massachusetts. Her nursing background includes acute care, emergency room, critical care, clinic settings, and case management for a non-profit visiting nurse association. She currently owns her own veterinary practice in Massachusetts and provides veterinary vaccine clinics in western Massachusetts.
Contributing faculty, Sharon Holt, DVM, MBA, ADN, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Mark J. Szarejko, DDS, FAGD
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.