Extraordinary Stories
Understanding Infections in Animals and Humans
Concerns echoed around the world this spring as a novel influenza outbreak emerged in Mexico. Public health professionals rapidly responded by investigating the outbreak and educating the public about disease prevention.
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| Greg Gray with colleagues in Nigeria. His visit was part of an ongoing study identifying risk factors for zoonotic influenza transmission |
Most experts agree that the novel influenza A H1N1 virus likely came from pigs. The virus quickly spread across the globe, stirring up many questions about how animal viruses move to human populations. Several studies recently published by UI College of Public Health researchers focus on zoonotic disease transmission.
"It has been estimated that more than 70 percent of 177 emerging or reemerging diseases have originated in animals," said Greg Gray, director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases and professor of epidemiology. "We can expect the majority of newly emergent human pathogens to similarly originate from animals."
Gray and doctoral student Whitney Baker recently authored a report that found veterinarians are at markedly increased risk of infection with zoonotic pathogens and could serve as a "bridging population," spreading pathogens to their families, their communities, and the animals for which they provide care.
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| Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases intern Tracy MacIntyre swabs a pig for a research study. |
Another study published by Tara Smith, assistant professor of epidemiology, marked the first study in the United States to document methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in swine and swine workers. The research suggests once MRSA is introduced, it may spread broadly among both swine and their caretakers.
With the majority of more than 1,400 recognized human diseases identified as zoonotic diseases, research at the College of Public Health is ongoing.
"Clearly, there is a critical need to better understand pathogen transmission from animals to man and from man to animals," Gray said.