George W. Beran - Handbook of Zoonoses, Section A: Bacterial, Rickettsial, Chlamydial, and Mycotic Zoonoses

George W. Beran, Editor-in-Chief

James H. Steele, Consulting Editor

Abrain S. Benenson, Editor for Human Diseases

Michael Torten, Editor for Spirochetal Zoonoses and Retroviral Diseases

David W. Breesen, Editor for Foodborne Zoonoses

Miodrag Ristic, Editor for Rickettsial Zoonoses

Allan C. Pier, Editor for Mycotic Zoonoses

Human beings, animals, birds, insects and arachnids, and the inanimate environment are all involved in cycles of infection and intoxication of the zoonoses. The term derived from Greek zoon (animals) and noses (diseases) literally means diseases from animals. In this handbook series, infections and diseases are considered that are naturally transmitted between animals or birds and human beings. Transmission may be direct or through arthropod vectors or environmental foci. In some, the etiologic agents exist freely in the environment from which animal or human exposures occur. Foods of animal origin may be the source of infectious agents or toxicants to people.

The number of infections and diseases which can be classified as zoonoses varies from approximately 100 (99 of the 169 infections and parasitic diseases included in Control of Communicable Diseases in Man, 15th ed., 1990) to approximately 3,000 (separately listing over 520 arboviral infections, over 2,000 salmonella serotypes, and over 200 leptospiral serovars). The importance of the zoonoses is based on their prevalence as chronic infections and incidence of new infections, the fluctuations which occur in the incidence of infections, the presence of high risk individuals within populations, the difficulties or costs encountered in attempting control, and the emergence or new recognition of infections of unassessed potential. In this handbook series, 18 bacterial, 10 foodborne, 7 chlamydial and rickettsial, and 3 mycotic diseases are considered important for specific considerations in Section A, and 42 viral diseases for consideration in Section B.

Following an introduction for each zoonosis, consideration is made of its history, etiology, epidemiology, the disease in animals, the disease in human beings, its public health aspects, and references for further study. For many of the zoonoses, reference is also made to the first edition of the Handbook Series in Zoonoses, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, published in eight volumes, 1979 to 1983.

George W. Beran, D.V.M., Ph.D., L.H.D.,Editor-in-Chief, is Distinguished Professor of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University. He holds a D.V.M. degree from Iowa State University, a Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology with emphasis on epidemiology from the University of Kansas College of Medicine, and an honorary L.H.D. from Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines. He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine with specialization in epidemiology, and a diplomate of the American College of Epidemiology.

During his career he has served in private veterinary practice; as an epidemic intelligence officer in the U.S. Public Health Service; as professor and director of the public health laboratory at Silliman University; as director of the Central Laboratory of the Province of Negros Oriental, Philippines; and as professor and chair of the Preventive Medicine Program and of the Food Safety Research Program at Iowa State University. Frequently invited to serve the World Health Organization (WHO), he has participated in 3 Expert Committee meetings, 8 Expert Consultations, and 14 international assignments. He is currently a member of the WHO Expert Panel on Zoonoses and Director of the WHO-Iowa State University Collaborating Center for Risk Assessment and Hazard Intervention in Foods of Animal Origin. In 1993 he received the Karl F. Meyer Gold-Headed Cane Award for excellence in epidemiology from the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society.

Dr. Beran is author or co-author of 176 scientific publications, 17 chapters in scientific books, and 2 monographs. During the period 19871993, he made 321 presentations at 512 scientific meetings, 44 of which were international meetings.

James H. Steele, D.V.M., M.P.H.,Consulting Editor, received his D.V.M. degree from Michigan State University in 1941, then went on to earn a M.P.H. degree from Harvard University. Dr. Steele was commissioned in the Public Health Service in 1941. He established the Veterinary Public Health Division of the Centers for Disease Control and served as its Chief Veterinary Officer from 19511971. He was Assistant Surgeon General for Veterinary Affairs, U.S. Public Health Service, 19651971. Dr. Steele joined the faculty of The University of Texas (UT) School of Public Health in 1971. During his stint there he founded and edited the