HUSBANDRY PORTFOLIO FOR THE CHEETAH (ACINONYX JUBATUS)

Zoonotic disease is a disease spread from an animal to a human. Many of these zoonotic diseases can be life threatening and with the current increase of exotic animal movement across the globe, zoonotic diseases are a public health concern and should be taken into consideration for any captive animal (Brown, 2004).

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Common zoonotic diseases in the UK include salmonella and Lymes Disease. However, these are not transmitted through  felids. the notifiable zoonotic diseases that cats can carry include; Pasteurellosis, ringworm, cat scratch fever, toxocariasis, zoonotic diphtheria and toxoplasmosis (DEFRA, 2016).  Most of these diseases are not commonly reported, however keepers and veterinarians must take precaution and be knowledgeable on the symptoms and preventative methods.

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Pastuerellosis and Toxoplasma Gondii are two of the more common zoonotic infections which utilizes felids as definitive hosts (Hill et al, 2005). These infections are listed on the 'List of Zoonotic Diseases' within the UK and therefore, protocol has been put into place by the Public Health Sector if these diseases are identified (if you wish to find out more please click the link at the bottom of the page). 

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Toxoplasmosis is a common infection in man as nearly one third of the population has been exposed to the parasite. The infection is transmitted through faecal-oral route as well as through the consumption of infected meat, as seen in the figure below (Hill et al, 2005). This infection is especially dangerous to pregnant woman and those who are immuno-supressed.

 

To prevent the infection of humans, hands must be thoroughly washed after handling meat and storing meat appropriately. Toxoplasma gondii organisms are killed by extreme cold temperatures (below -13 ͦC). the treatment of toxoplasmosis includes Daraprim, however, this drug has little effect if the disease has reached the acute stage and therefore, diaminodiphenylsulfone or clindamycin can be used (Hill et al, 2005). Toxoplasma gondii is not usually harmful to felids as it uses them as hosts, however a stressed cat may suffer from acute disseminated toxoplasmosis and this can be fatal (Lloyd et al, 2007).