Sexual Diseases and Mental Illness

[Orleander]

Do animals get sexually transmitted diseases? Do they suffer from mental illness?

[cosmictraveler]

Do animals get sexually transmitted diseases? Do they suffer from mental illness?

STDs in Animals
According to Planned Parenthood: "All plants and animals that reproduce sexually may develop sexually transmitted infections."


Answer
Yes. Animals can get STDs. Some breeders will only breed their animals with others that have been tested.


Answer

Animals have their own STDs. It's unlikely that a human STD would infect an animal.
Yes, most warm blooded animals can get Chlymidia and Brucellosis. In fact, one of the reasons that Koalas are endangered in the wild in Australia is a Chlamidia epidemic. There are others but these are the most commonly seen and very difficult to get rid of once it is in a herd or flock.

Human STDs are exclusive to humans. These infections do not transmit to other animals. Other mammal STDs do not transmit to people.

Answer
STDs consist of Viruses and Bacteria. Virus are known to mutate, hence MRSA and VRE in humans as these viruses have mutated into slightly different versions of their original virus that we cannot yet combat. This is called Antigenic Drift. When a virus mutates into a completely new strain it is called an Antigenic Shift and requires 2 proteins to change.

To quote Madeliene McPherson (epidemiologist in Perth, Western Australia who has lectured all over the world) from her Nursing Lecture handouts


Influenza B sometimes causes epidemics but influenza type A can sweep across continents and around the world in massive epidemics or pandemics

These periodic pandemics occur because of antigenic changes in one or both surface glycoproteins of the virus.

Antibodies against the Glycoproteins (two proteins found on the surface of the virus) protect us from illness. The proteins are haemagglutin (H) and neuraminidase (N). Mutations in the H and N genes ("antigenic drift") allow influenza variants to emerge that are not susceptible to antibodies against earlier strains.
Influenza strains with changed H and or N genes (different antigens) are not recognised by cells and antibodies that protected us against earlier strains.

This explains why influenza can recur every winter.
Influenza viruses are remarkable because of the frequent antigenic changes that occur.

The two surface antigens or influenza undergo antigenic varations independent of each other. Minor changes are known as antigenic drifts and major changes known as antigenic shifts result in the appearance of new subtypes.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_animal....Is_that_could

[Asguard]

well as HIV is a blood born STD which probably origionated from a bite from an ape i would say there is your answer. They have there own version that chimps get.

I doubt there are many plant STD's though. The transfer rate would be much lower than for normal sexual contact and alot of plants self fertilise as well which would limit the viability of a STD

[Raithere]

Human STDs are exclusive to humans. These infections do not transmit to other animals. Other mammal STDs do not transmit to people.

This is not true. While infrequent, it does occur. AIDS, for instance, is suspected to have originated from a similar disease in other primates.

http://www.ops-oms.org/english/ad/dpc/vp/zoonosis.htm

~Raithere

[Asguard]

um look up

[Raithere]

hehe... I caught that just after I posted... honest, it wasn't there when I started typing

[draqon]

yeah AIDS came from apes...someone was lonely and did it.

[pjdude1219]

Do animals get sexually transmitted diseases? Do they suffer from mental illness?

um yep you have never heard of FIV

[cosmictraveler]

This is not true. While infrequent, it does occur. AIDS, for instance, is suspected to have originated from a similar disease in other primates.

http://www.ops-oms.org/english/ad/dpc/vp/zoonosis.htm

~Raithere

It was "suspected" but never confirmed by the scientific community at large. That is why I guess they made that statement.

[Raithere]

It was "suspected" but never confirmed by the scientific community at large. That is why I guess they made that statement.

Yes, and it is relatively infrequent. But the statement is misleading, and considering the source, they should correct it. Zoonosis is well known and there are many diseases humans can contract from other species. You don't even need to have sex with them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoonosis

~Raithere

[Orleander]

...Yes, most warm blooded animals can get Chlymidia and Brucellosis. ...

Holy Crap! Brucellosis is a sexually transmitted disease?! I didn't know that. I know it worried cattle farmers. I know elk can get it. I wonder if deer do. I thought it was transmitted through milk, not sex.

[Orleander]

um yep you have never heard of FIV

No, I haven't. What is it?