(JP)Ministry targets zoo infections

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http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20030109wo35.htm

 

Ministry targets zoo infections

 

Yomiuri Shimbun

 

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has compiled

guidelines to prevent zoo staff and visitors from

contracting zoonosis, infectious diseases contracted

from animals, it has been learned.

 

The ministry plans to send the guidelines on

preventing zoonosis to prefectural governments

nationwide that will pass them on to facilities that

keep animals and birds.

 

The decision follows separate cases in 2001 and 2002

in which visitors and staff in two prefectures

contracted chlamydia psittaci, also known as

psittacosis or parrot fever, a ministry source said.

 

Although birds most often transmit the disease, they

are not the only vector for chlamydia psittaci. In

June 2001, five zoo workers in Kawasaki were infected

after delivering a Siberian moose.

 

It was first time in Japan that the disease had been

transmitted to more than one zoo worker at the same

time.

 

Parrot fever can cause a high fever and inflammation

of the lungs in severe cases and is thought to be

transmitted via airborne bacteria from bird droppings.

The main treatment is a course of antibiotics.

 

According to one estimate, more than 20 percent of

birds raised by aviaries or collectors in Japan carry

agents of the disease. Fifty-five people caught the

disease last year.

 

In the Kawasaki case, the employees apparently inhaled

bacteria that were released from the moose's blood.

 

The zoo had taken no precautions against infection,

such as asking the workers to wear gloves and masks.

 

In another case, 12 sight-seers and five staff members

at an aviary in Matsue, contracted psittacosis between

November 2001 and January the next year. They

reportedly inhaled bacteria in dust that was disturbed

when aviary cages were cleaned.

 

The ministry official said the aviary failed to

rigorously check whether the birds had the disease

when it imported them.

 

One measure to prevent zoonosis comes from the Japan

Zoo Aquarium Association (JZAA), which has compiled a

set of hygiene management guidelines tailored to each

of its approximately 170 member facilities.

 

However, many other facilities, including the Matsue

aviary, do not belong to the association and are free

to manage hygiene levels in any way they please.

 

The ministry has therefore compiled its own guidelines

so that all animal facilities will hew to standards

set down by the National Institute of Infectious

Diseases, which cooperated with the ministry on the

guidelines.

 

The guidelines require facility operators to check the

origins and routes of import for all nonnative

animals, and thoroughly examine their records of

diseases. Examinations to check for possible zoonosis

also will be virtually mandatory.

 

Furthermore, because the immune systems of animals in

captivity generally tend to weaken due to higher

stress levels, the ministry has asked operators to

improve conditions for their animals.

 

The ministry also requires that facilities allowing

physical contact between visitors and animals must

quarantine animals from the public if abnormalities

are found in the animals' skin or droppings. The

operators must also clearly warn visitors of the risk

of physical contact and advise them to wash their

hands after touching animals and to promptly consult

with a doctor if they feel ill.

 

The guidelines' measures for animal workers recommend

that facilities store blood samples of employees

during medical checkups for use in the event they

contract zoonosis. Employees who come into contact

with animal droppings will be required to wear

dust-proof goggles and face masks.

 

According to the JZAA, about 43 million people visit

its member facilities each year.

 

An official of the ministry's section on infectious

disease prevention said: " It's outrageous that disease

agents are being transmitted to people via zoo

animals. We plan to send these guidelines to animal

facilities nationwide and ask them to respect the

standards. "

 

An official of the animal workers section of Ueno Zoo

in Tokyo, said: " This is a significant step for the

state to compile guidelines, since not all animal

parks have the proper expertise or training to prevent

the spread of diseases, and some aren't strict enough

on preventive measures.

 

" But, really, what the government should be doing is

responsibly testing animals during quarantine, before

they come into the country proper. "

 

Copyright 2003 The Yomiuri Shimbun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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