The following article was taken from a lecture given by Dr. Lee Hunter at the Piedmont Community College at Roxboro, NC, during their annual taxidermy show and mini-courses several years ago. It is an outstanding outline for understanding the diseases that the taxidermist will face and how to protect yourself from becoming infected. For more information on the Roxboro show contact: Piedmont Community College, (336) 599-1181

Taxidermy and Diseases by Dr. Lee Hunter
Taxidermy has the potential for rewards, both monetary as well as the satisfaction that results from doing a job to the best of your ability. Unlike many other professions or hobbies, taxidermy has the potential for zoonoses. A zoonosis is a disease that may be transmitted from an animal to a person. This lecture (article) is an attempt to reduce your chances of being exposed to a zoonosis and, therefore, reduce your chance of becoming ill. So that you will be able to reduce your exposure to these diseases, this lecture (article) will be divided into two parts. The first will be concerned with how diseases are transmitted. The second will be about how certain actions will prevent transmission. Please remember, while it is possible to acquire the disease, the probability is low for most of the diseases. The most important things that you should retain from this lecture (article) are:

Basic methods of preventing disease transmission, and
Tell your physician about your hobby (or profession) each time you are ill and in their office.
The Ability of a Disease to be Transmitted to a Person.

There are three factors that determine the presence or absence of disease if an organism is transmitted to a person:
The ability of the organism to cause disease o The number of organisms (infecting dose)
The ability of the host to resist disease

Some bacteria or viruses are so non-infective that they are unable to cause disease in people. Other bacteria and viruses do not usually cause disease. Given conditions that are very abnormal, such as the host's immune system not working, they may then cause disease. Lastly, there are some bacteria or viruses that are so virulent (capable of causing disease), that you only need to get ten of them (bacteria organisms) to get the disease.

With most bacteria or viruses capable of causing disease, you are safe if you only get a small number of organisms. There seems to be a "threshold" number of organisms necessary to cause disease. In other words, if you get fewer than the "threshold", you do not become ill; more and you become ill. The last factor to consider, the host's ability to resist disease may be the most important. While most people are able to resist disease, the very young, the very old, people taking certain drugs and people with certain diseases have a reduced ability to fight off an infection. AIDS is one such disease.

Portals of Entry

When you think of how bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites can invade your body, try to visualize "Portals-of-Entry." A portal-of-entry means a doorway through which the organism may enter the body and grow. The most obvious "portal" or doorway is a cut or abrasion of the skin that exposes the underlying tissues. Skin, when intact, is too dry and thick for an organism to grow. Also, skin is worn away constantly. This allows you to "shed" the organisms that are trying to invade your body. A cut or abrasion changes that. The organism can usually grow very well in the tissues that are below the skin. Another obvious "portal-of-entry" is via the mouth. When an organism enters the mouth, it gains access to some tissues in which it may grow. The acid produced by the stomach may kill the organisms. The eye is another portal. The eye normally tears to remove dust specks and other irritants. The tears contain certain substances that are deadly to organisms. Occasionally, the organisms may start to grow in the inner lid before the tears can kill it. Another portal is through the respiratory system. Certain diseases may be spread by inhaling the bacteria, virus, etc., and it then growing inside the body. Some infections may remain where they start growing or they may spread to other parts of the body.

Prevention

Knowing the ways that an organism can enter, you can easily deduce ways to prevent them. The most obvious way is to wear gloves. Non-sterile examination gloves come in a variety of sizes, are waterproof, and relatively cheap. They are thin enough that you can "feel" through them well enough to perform almost every task. They should be used once and thrown away.

Sterile surgeon's gloves are much more expensive but there is an increased ability to "feel" through them. The added "feel" is not worth their increased cost. Playtex-type rubber gloves can also be used and reused. For their price per use, they are a good buy but they also have drawbacks. You lose your ability to perform delicate tasks. They should be washed between use. All of these gloves will prevent animal tissue from touching the cuts we all have on our hands most of the time. Remember, even a cut that is very hard to see with the naked eye is like the Grand Canyon to bacteria.

Washing your hands after working on an animal, even if you wear gloves, is a good practice to follow. There could be microscopic holes in the gloves or tissue or fluids come in the cuff area. Plain soap and warm water is adequate for this purpose. If you wish, you can use an iodine-containing soap such as Betadine Scrub (not the solution type) or any other bactericidal or bacteristatic soaps. One of the easiest rules to follow is to never put anything in your mouth in the work area. This includes food, drinks, and cigarettes. Each of these actions is able to carry bacteria, viruses, etc., past your primary defense (skin) and into your body. While the stomach acid will destroy most of the organisms, it usually will not kill all of them. With some diseases, you only need to ingest (eat) about 10 organisms to become ill.

Each day after work, you should clean your work area with a bactericidal solution such as Clorox and water, Roccal-D and water, or any number of other solutions. The solution should be left on the tabletop and on your instruments for several minutes before wiping clean. This will kill the organisms present and prevent them from growing and multiplying overnight. Some bacteria can double in number in 20 minutes. That number can again double in 20 minutes and so forth. As you can see, it would not take long to have an astronomical number of bacteria.

Ticks are another method of spreading certain diseases. Whenever possible, you should avoid their bites. If the specimen has been frozen, ticks should be dead and unable to transmit their diseases.

Other than examination gloves, two more protective devices you may consider using, depending upon what job you are performing, are glasses and a surgical type mask. Remember that two portals of entry are the eyes and the respiratory system. You would need these things if you were going to be doing anything that would create splashing. When you splash things, very small droplets are formed which will float in the air until they make contact with something. It is best if the contact is not made with your body. Very small particles, such as these, can be inhaled down to the bottom-most part of the lung. (To a lesser degree, high-speed grinders or fleshers can also propel bacteria into the air. The same precautions should be taken.) As you can see, these ideas are just common sense; things you already know to do in order to prevent disease. If you think of the job at hand and the few basic tips you already know, you can prevent most diseases.

A question comes up, what do you do if you have taken these precautions and still manage to cut through your gloves and into your skin. What your parents taught you still holds, soap and water do an excellent job cleaning a wound. It should be done as soon as possible after the cut occurs. If you don't need to be seen by a physician, then you should make a note of the date that it happened. Often, knowing the amount of time that elapses between a wound and a resulting illness can result in a diagnosis. It also usually means that the disease is not as far advanced so there is less discomfort to you.

Suppose all your best efforts at prevention fail and still you become ill. Your best chance comes when you tell your physician what you do for a hobby or as a job. Many physicians have not seen people infected with some of the diseases to which you may be exposed. By reminding your physician that you may have been exposed to a zoonosis, you may "key" him or her into a disease they may not have had on their list of "rule-outs." If you need help, most hospitals have infectious disease departments that can be of help. Also, The Environmental Epidemiology Branch of the Division of Health Services for your state has veterinarians and physicians that are familiar with these diseases and are available for consultation. Physicians have been trained in all aspects of medicine including the diagnosis and treatment of zoonotic diseases. In general, they do an excellent job diagnosing these infrequent diseases early in their course, therefore, saving lives and money. Because these diseases are infrequent, physicians may not think of them first, like all people, they may start their thinking with the more common diseases. If you believe you may have a zoonotic disease, tell your physician; he or she will not be offended and will welcome your suggestions. Remember, it's your health.