The recent H1N1 influenza epidemic has raised many questions about how animal viruses move to human populations. One potential route is through veterinarians, who, according to a new report by University of Iowa College of Public Health researchers, are at markedly increased risk of infection with zoonotic pathogens -- the viruses and bacteria that can infect both animals and humans. While there is no evidence that veterinarians played a direct role in the current H1N1 epidemic, the review found that veterinarians can serve as a "bridging population," spreading pathogens to their families, their communities and the various groups of animals for which they provide care. The paper appears in the May 15 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (http://avmajournals.avma.org/loi/javma). While conducting previous occupational research studies, the study's authors, Whitney Baker, a doctoral student in epidemiology at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, and Gregory Gray, M.D., University of Iowa professor of epidemiology and director of the University of Iowa Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, observed that veterinarians often have evidence of zoonotic influenza virus infection. To better understand this finding, Baker and Gray conducted a review of medical literature published between 1966 and 2007 and identified 66 journal articles that specifically addressed veterinarians and zoonotic infections. "Our review of the literature found that veterinarians' risk of zoonotic infections is often higher than that of other occupational groups with extensive exposure to animals, such as farm workers," Baker said. "This is remarkable since veterinarians have professional training in how to protect themselves from zoonotic infections."

Somewhere out there, somewhere along the way, a single creature got all this started. A pig, presumably. Pig Zero. Scientists suspect that two influenza viruses common in swine, one rooted in Eurasia and the other in North America, came together in a single cell within a pig. The two viruses exchanged their genes like a couple of kids swapping school clothes. The result was a novel strain of virus, with, according to scientists, two genes from the Eurasian virus and six genes from the North American virus. The new strain then jumped to humans. Where is unknown. Mexico is a possibility, but so far the virus hasn't been found in any Mexican swine. All of this is the latest iteration of a phenomenon dating to the dawn of mankind: zoonosis. A zoonotic disease is one that spreads from animals to humans, or vice versa. Bubonic plague came from a bacterium that infects rats and can spread via fleas to humans. HIV is a virus that passed into people from a monkey. Malaria, tuberculosis, rabies, yellow fever and typhoid fever are zoonotic.

La mondialisation et le réchauffement climatique aggravent les risques de propagation de maladies animales en Europe et exigent une politique européenne plus efficace contre les épizooties, estime Michel Barnier. Le ministre français de l'Agriculture a tiré le signal d'alarme sur ces phénomènes récents dans un entretien à Reuters. "Nous devons nous préparer à affronter de plus en plus de pathogènes émergents, de virus, de maladies et d'espèces invasives, qui peuvent toucher des végétaux, des animaux, parfois des personnes", a-t-il déclaré mardi. "Ces maladies circulent par les transports, les bateaux, les avions, les voyageurs, et le réchauffement climatique va accélérer et aggraver ces phénomènes", a-t-il ajouté. "On voit bien que des virus ou des maladies arrivent en Europe qui n'y arrivaient pas avant." C'est le cas notamment du chikungunya, transmis à l'homme par des moustiques, qui est arrivé jusqu'au Nord de l'Italie. Le frelon asiatique, qui menace les abeilles en Europe, est pour sa part arrivé à Bordeaux, sans doute par bateau.

DA - 20060208 IS - 0028-2162 (Print) LA - dut PT - Case Reports PT - Journal Article RN - 0 (Anti-Bacterial Agents) SB - IM

DA - 20040406 IS - 0163-4453 LA - eng PT - Journal Article RN - 0 (Hazardous Substances) SB - IM

DA - 20021223 IS - 0003-1488 LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Review PT - Review, Tutorial SB - IM

DA - 19980512 IS - 0040-6376 LA - eng PT - Case Reports PT - Journal Article RN - 0 (Antibodies, Bacterial) SB - IM