Zoonosis Perspective Cornell

Virology professor Gary Whittaker at Cornell University in Ithaca,
N.Y., who co-authored the recent review paper with his colleagues,
says the animals that can transmit infections to humans range from
companion dogs, cats, or horses to wild birds or backyard chickens and
other creatures that pass through yards or parks: think raccoons,
bats, squirrels, coyotes, or skunks.

“We’ve got a changing dynamic in pet ownership, and I think that’s
what is concerning me the most,” Whittaker said. “Our awareness of
diseases isn’t keeping up to pace.”

Whittaker is especially interested in infections in roaming cats, such
as the feral felines increasingly interact with raccoons in
Brooklyn’s parks and cemeteries.

Indoors, when a large, dense population of cats or dogs are in close
proximity at shelters or moving between foster homes, kennels or doggy
daycare, it’s an opportunity for superspreader events of influenza to
occur, he said.