Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Cells, Microbes & Viruses => Topic started by: Lewis Thomson on 19/01/2022 10:25:05

Title: Do we infect animals with diseases that humans are resistant to?
Post by: Lewis Thomson on 19/01/2022 10:25:05

Donald would like to know the answer to this question.

"Zoonotic diseases are pathogens that usually infect nonhuman animals and opportunistically infect humans, where the human host is often a dead end.  Are there pathogens that travel from humans into nonhuman animals? Reports of zoo animals getting COVID 19 are examples?"

Discuss your findings in the comments below...

Title: Re: Do we infect animals with diseases that humans are resistant to?
Post by: alancalverd on 19/01/2022 22:57:45

Guinea pigs are very susceptible to a number of common human infections - hence their use in medical research.

Title: Re: Do we infect animals with diseases that humans are resistant to?
Post by: Shraddha on 18/02/2022 11:51:00

Certain viruses with similar receptor binding proteins (RBP) can pass on from animals to humans or vice verse through natural selection process.

Title: Re: Do we infect animals with diseases that humans are resistant to?
Post by: Bored chemist on 18/02/2022 14:52:47

Well...
"recent research establishes a connection and attributes the spread of the disease to its transmission through international trade routes into native ecosystems.[5]"
from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chytridiomycosis
It lookslike our actions spread diseases we are not directly affected by

Title: Re: Do we infect animals with diseases that humans are resistant to?
Post by: evan_au on 18/02/2022 20:30:31

Quote from: Bored Chemist

Chytridiomycosis

I heard that the Chytrid fungus that is killing frogs around the world was spread by human pregnancy tests.
- The early pregnancy test used from the 1930s to the 1950s used the African clawed frog, Xenopus (before we got RAT tests for pregnancy)
- Urine from a pregnant human induced these frogs to lay eggs
- These frogs were exported from their native Africa around the world
- Xenopus frogs are unaffected by the Chytrid fungus
- But this export industry spread Chytrid fungus around the world, and is now killing many species of frog which have no immunity to it...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenopus#Model_organism_for_biological_research
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25843959/

Title: Re: Do we infect animals with diseases that humans are resistant to?
Post by: Bored chemist on 19/02/2022 01:55:08

Quote from: evan_au on 18/02/2022 20:30:31

I heard that the Chytrid fungus that is killing frogs around the world was spread by human pregnancy tests.

There was also a suggestion that it was transported on/ by the scientists looking into the spread of the fungus.
I don't know if that was true, but it's clear that mankind spreads bugs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_United_Kingdom_foot-and-mouth_outbreak
Foot and mouth didn't swim across the channel.