Jenee Odani and Julie Bennington, CTAHR’s pre-veterinary experts in the Dept. of Human Nutrition, Food, and Animal Sciences, were on hand to witness and celebrate Gov. Greenʻs signing ceremony declaring January as “Hawai‘i One Health Month.”
Leptospirosis, rat lungworm disease, and toxoplasmosis are just some of the significant zoonotic diseases – diseases that can be spread between humans and animals – that are prevalent in Hawai’i, she explains.
Leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that is transmitted through the urine of infected mammals, can sicken people who come into contact with contaminated water or soil. Rat lungworm disease, a painful neurologic disease, can develop in people and animals who accidentally ingest infective larvae in snails or slugs in contaminated produce. Toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease that is transmitted through the feces of infected cats, is the leading cause of human death among foodborne illnesses in the U.S. – and is the biggest threat to Hawaiian monk seals.