Book

Dogs and cats share homes, beds and breath with their owners, and a small group of their respiratory infections can pass to people. Most airway disease in pets is caused by agents that do not affect humans. The few that do, and those that people pass back to their animals, matter most for vulnerable owners, veterinary staff and clinics. Zoonotic Respiratory Infectious Diseases of Small Animals sets out the evidence in one illustrated volume for veterinary students, small-animal practitioners, shelter veterinarians, nurses, public-health professionals and researchers. It begins with respiratory defence, zoonotic concepts and the routes of transmission, then covers diagnosis, sampling and clinic biosafety. Separate chapters treat bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic zoonoses, including influenza, SARS-CoV-2, cryptococcosis, sporotrichosis, Toxocara, Echinococcus and Dirofilaria. A further chapter covers high-consequence agents such as plague, tularaemia, Q fever and tuberculosis. Later chapters examine reverse zoonosis, antimicrobial resistance and emerging threats, the people and settings at greatest risk, and prevention and public health. Each agent chapter opens with an at-a-glance table and follows a consistent order. Recent peer-reviewed literature and consensus guidance (2018 onwards) are given priority and cited by number. The book separates confirmed transmission from case reports, shared environmental exposure and theoretical risk, and states plainly when a common canine or feline pathogen is not known to be zoonotic. Where evidence is thin, it says so. It gives no doses, treatment regimens or disinfectant dilutions. Schematic figures, quick-reference tables, an index and chapter-by-chapter references complete the volume.