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CDC's Healthy Pets, Healthy People Teaching Kit

Lesson 5: Case Studies on Pet-Related Zoonoses

Teaching Kit Contents Introduction Lesson Plan 1 Lesson Plan 2 Lesson Plan 3 Lesson Plan 4 Lesson Plan 5

Audience

Health professionals and other community workers who serve immunocompromised patients or clients.

Time

Approximately 60 minutes

Objectives

By the end of lesson one, the participants will be able to:

• Provide an example of an outbreak related to a zoonotic disease
• Give at least three recommendations related to given case study involving a zoonotic disease
• Know at least two questions that a physician should ask if a patient has a zoonotic disease

Overview

The purpose of this lesson is to provide health professionals with real-life examples of disease transmission from animals to humans. Participants should be able to incorporate the knowledge they acquired from the first lessons to help solve the case studies in lesson five.

Materials

Hand-held ball

Markers / flip chart or dry-erase marker / board

Introduction (10 minutes)

Suggested Script

Welcome back for the final lesson of this course. Over the past four lessons, you have learned about the pet-related zoonoses and immunocompromised persons. Now that you have a grasp of who is at risk of acquiring zoonoses, what pet-related zoonoses are of greatest concern, what pet are considered risky or safe, and resources available n prevention of pet-related zoonoses, you are ready to put your knowledge to work.

What are some of the questions you have been asked or cases you have worked on that are related to zoonoses?

Pass the ball around to participants for responses. As you get scenarios and questions, write them up on the board. If adequate scenario are produced by the group, break groups into sub-groups of 4-5 people. Have each sub-group work through a scenario using the question format below. After answering all of the questions, have participants return to main group.

Each sub-group should share their case study and solution with the whole group. Does the pet owner / person in contact with animal have an immunocompromising disease or condition? If so, what?

What animal did this person contact?

What are some of the health benefits this animal might provide to the persons?

What kind of contact did this person have with the animal (e.g., direct, indirect, work-related, at home, etc)?

Did this person become ill? If so, what illness?

Of the zoonoses that you learned, which ones could be transmitted by this animals?

What clinical symptoms would you expect the patient to have (with each zoonosis)?

What would you recommend to this person (e.g., should they keep the pet)?

What materials could you provide to this person if they had additional questions?

If you do not have enough case study examples from the group, provide each sub-group with one of the following scenarios:

• A 14 year-old boy is HIV positive. He has an iguana at home to which he is very attached. His physician has told him that he needs to give up his lizard, but he is asking you for a second opinion. The boy states that his lizard is "very neat and clean".
• An 12-year old girl has leukemia and consistently uses a wheelchair. She has a Pekinese dog who always resides on her lap. Her mother is concerned that the dog is a health risk to her daughter and asks for your advice.
• It is Spring and an adult with no known immunocompromising conditions presents to you with profuse, watery diarrhea. Her stool culture is positive for Salmonella. Upon asking her if she has recently purchased some baby chicks for her daughter for Easter. She asks if that is a concern.
• A 40-year old man with HIV acquires salmonellosis. Upon asking if he has had contact with any animals, he tells you he played with his friend's hedgehog. He asks if that is a concern.
• A woman undergoing chemotherapy comes to your office, quite distressed. She has just been told by her oncologist that she will need to get rid of her cat because it is "too risky". She asks for your advice.
• A 30-year old man has recently learned that he is HIV-positive. He would like to get a pet to keep him company, but has heard that some pets are too risky to have. He asks for your recommendations.

Conclusion (10 minutes)

Suggested Script

You all did a great job. Thank for sharing your solutions. As you can see, there is often more than one possible recommendation for each scenario. In all situations, it is important to weigh the benefits of animal contact against the health risks from zoonoses.

You have demonstrated the ability to use the knowledge you have acquired in this course. I hope you find this information helpful in your clinics and practices.

Ask each person to share at least one new thing the learned from the course. Pass the ball around one last time for responses. Be sure everyone has the opportunity to respond. Thank them all for their participation.

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