5. What Animals Are Most Likely To Make You Sick?

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2012/08/hantavirus_in_yosemite_what_animals_cause_the_most_disease_.html

On August 18th, Slate Magazine contributor Brian Palmer wrote an article regarding the various zoonotic diseases and how they affect humans. The author started his article talking about a case where two campers were infected with the hantavirus, carried by mice, causing one of them to die. He then asked an interest arousing question saying, "What animals cause the most human disease?" The next paragraph explained some different types of "animal-borne illnesses" and their various effects on people. Palmer explained how illnesses caused by infected animal products were ten times higher than people getting infected by malaria (despite the fact that malaria kills more victims). He gave credibility to this statement and reinforced it by supporting it with results from a recent study made in July. Based on the results, he affirmed that livestock "are the most disease-bearing animals from a human perspective." The following two paragraphs gave a brief overview of some types of animal-borne diseases such as malaria (from mosquitoes), hatavirus (from rodents), leptospirosis (from livestock), and others. Not only does Palmer informed the public about animal-borne diseases, but also about possible avian influenzas and primate diseases. He said that though avian influenza did not have a significant impact on humans nor do humans have a close contact with primate species, it is an issue to be aware of, especially if such diseases mutate into different forms which can be disastrous for humans.

Palmer's primary purpose in writing this article is to inform people how animal-borne diseases are an important case to be aware of, which is even more serious than malaria. He supports his claim using evidence from studies, but also explains a little about the different types of diseases. Using an unbiased tone, the article is directed to mainly the public, and help them be aware of this topic.