Non-Pathogenic Diseases in Animals

(Original post by St George's University of London)
Hi,

Although I study disease in humans and not in animals, as far as I'm aware, a non-pathogenic disease is simply a disease that occurs due to something other than pathogens (i.e. organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc).

So for example, cancers, overactive thyroid, bone disease are all diseases in animals that occur not due to bacteria, viruses, fungi.

Here's a paragraph from https://www.britannica.com/science/a...nimal-diseases which seems to give a good explanation:

Noninfectious diseases are not caused by virulent pathogens and are not communicable from one animal to another. They may be caused by hereditary factors or by the environment in which an animal lives. Many metabolic diseases are caused by an unsuitable alteration, sometimes brought about by man, in an animal’s genetic constitution or in its environment. Metabolic diseases usually result from a disturbance in the normal balance of the physiological mechanisms that maintain stability, or homeostasis. Examples of metabolic diseases include overproduction or underproduction of hormones, which control specific body processes; nutritional deficiencies; poisoning from such agents as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, fluorine, and poisonous plants; and inherited deficiencies in the ability to synthesize active forms of specific enzymes, which are the proteins that control the rates of chemical reactions in the body.

Excessive inbreeding (i.e., the mating of related animals) among all domesticated animal species has resulted in an increase in the number of metabolic diseases.



Here's a previous thread where someone asked this: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/sho....php?t=2546485

Hope that is useful to you and that other people come along and can help too!

Millie,
4th year medical student,
Official student rep of St George's University of London

(Original post by macpatgh-Sheldon)
Hi Chloe,
First my background is in human medicine - I am not a vet.

Your Q is self-contradictory - pathogenesis encompasses the mechanism of the disease process and its study is pathology.- therefore you cannot have disease without pathogenesis.

Do you mean disease not caused by a pathogen? If so, I would look up whether these creatures are capable of sustaining diseases due to other mechanisms (such as neoplastic, degenerative, traumatic, etc. causes. Examples would be whatever cancers dogs/cats can get, arthritis (I suppose it is possible as some animals are mammals, so have joints), rupture of a major artery due to penetrating injury (e.g. if the crook on London Bridge [recent cowardly act by a brainwashed monkey] had been confronted by a poor dog), respectively - please check out if these conditions exist in "animals" - don't take my guesses as gospel!

M.

(Original post by ChloePCooper)
oh wow! First, thank you for taking time to respond. Your explanation is truly helpful!