Psittacosis is an infection caused by bacteria. This disease is also known as Ornithosis or Parrot Fever and is most commonly associated with pet birds.
Psittacosis spreads by breathing in droppings or respiratory secretions from infected birds. Person to person spread is rare. Parrot-type birds are the most often infected. Pigeons and doves, turkeys, chickens, and ducks can sometimes get the disease
Plague is a disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. There are three different forms of plague, depending on how a person becomes infected:
Leptospirosis is a disease caused by the bacteria of the genus Leptospira. The bacteria can be found in urine and bodily fluids of infected animals.
Leptospirosis spreads by touching urine and bodily fluids of infected animals and through drinking or touching contaminated water or soil.
Hantaviruses are a group of viruses mainly carried by certain rodents. In the United States this includes some rats and mice. Hantavirus infection can cause different syndromes.
Hantavirus spreads by breathing in infected rodents' saliva, urine, droppings, or nesting materials that are in the air. It is rare that a rodent bite could cause hantavirus. It is typically not spread from person to person.
Brucellosis is a disease caused by Brucella bacteria. People can get brucellosis from infected animals or contaminated animal products. Both domestic animals (dogs, cats, livestock, etc.) and wild animals can have brucellosis.
Brucellosis spreads from animals to humans in several ways. These include:
Anthrax is a disease caused by the bacteria called Bacillus anthracis. It occurs naturally in soil around the world. It can infect people, domestic animals, and wild animals.
People get infected when they:
Ebola is a disease caused by ebola viruses. Most of the viruses that cause ebola are in sub-Saharan Africa. Ebola viruses spread through direct contact with the body fluids (including blood, sweat, vomit, feces) of an ill or dead person infected with ebola virus. Ebola is NOT spread through the air and a person can only spread the virus when they are having symptoms.
Outbreaks of ebola viruses occur from time to time. Learn more about ebola outbreaks in the world.
About 14 different tick species live in Maine, but not all of these ticks bite people. The two most common species of tick seen in Maine are the deer tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis). In Maine, deer ticks can carry germs that cause several illnesses. These include:
