Instructor
Erin Lashnits, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM)
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine
Description
This course will provide an introduction to the zoonotic diseases that can be carried and transmitted by pet dogs, as well as an introduction to diseases that may be imported during international dog adoption. The role of dogs as sentinels and clinical models for zoonotic diseases will be covered. Finally an overview of disease prevention methods will be presented.
Learning objectives
- List and describe common zoonotic diseases carried and transmitted by pet dogs
- List and describe high-risk diseases that may be imported during international dog adoption
- Explain how dogs serve as sentinels for disease exposure in humans
-
Recommend steps that people can take to prevent zoonotic disease exposure or introduction from pet dogs
Accreditation Statement
This session, Zoonotic diseases and pet dogs, is approved for 0.75 enduring AAFP Prescribed credits.
The AAFP has reviewed One Health Medical Education for a Changing Climate, and deemed it acceptable for AAFP credit. Term of approval is from 01/01/2025 to 12/31/2025. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
AAFP Prescribed credit is accepted by the American Medical Association as equivalent to AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)™ toward the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award. When applying for the AMA PRA, Prescribed credit earned must be reported as Prescribed, not as Category 1.
Evidence-based bibliography for further study
- Healthy Pets, Healthy People. CDC. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/index.html
- Weese, S. Worms & Germs Blog. Available at https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com
- Companion Animal Parasite Council. CAPC Guidelines. Available at https://capcvet.org/guidelines/
- AVMA. Dog Bite Prevention. Available at https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/pet-owners/dog-bite-prevention
- Santos et al. Canine Brucellosis: An Update. Frontiers in Vet Sci 2021.
-
Rocha et al. A global perspective on non-autochthonous canine and feline Leishmania infection and leishmaniosis in the 21st century. Acta Tropica 2023.7. Bowser & Anderson. Dogs (Canis familiaris) as sentinels for human infectious disease and application to Canadian populations: A systematic review. Vet Sci 2018.
About the Instructor
Erin Lashnits, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM)
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Lashnits is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Small Animal Internal Medicine at University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. She received her MS in biology from Stanford University, DVM from Cornell University, and PhD in comparative biomedical sciences from North Carolina State University. She spent a few years in general practice and emergency medicine before completing her internal medicine residency at NC State University. Dr. Lashnits’s current research focuses on the epidemiology of zoonotic vector-borne diseases and other infectious diseases affecting underserved veterinary populations in a One Health context.