diseases of wildlife
The disease agents or parasites that cause these zoonotic diseases can be contracted from wildlife directly by bites or contamination, or indirectly through the bite of arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, and mites that have previously fed on an infected animal.
Lyme disease is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals bitten by the Ixodes species of ticks. Rodents and other wildlife are reservoirs of the disease. Most infections occur from the nymphal-stage ticks, which are tiny and difficult to remove.
Dermatophilosis is a disease caused by a type of bacteria that can infect the skin and hair of both people and animals. The disease is spread from animals to people through touching an infected animal. Deer are the most common wildlife infected. Affected animals may have a âpaintbrushâ appearance of matted hair.