ABSTRACT
Obviously, the number and complexity of animal-associated illnesses preclude a comprehensive review of the entire subject in a single chapter. Moreover, most of these conditions remain uncommon, even for the infectious disease consultant, and many produce such catastrophic manifestations that afflicted patients require immediate hospitalization. Accordingly, this chapter focuses on conditions potentially encountered by a primary care physician treating adults in an ambulatory setting in the United States. Of note, some prevalent infections, such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, are addressed in detail in Chapter 30 along with ehrlichiosis, tick-borne relapsing fever, tularemia, and babesiosis. Additional information on animal-acquired diseases associated with life-threatening syndromes, such as arbovirus encephalitis and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, is reviewed in Chapter 31.
