Years ago, we saw a television commercial for an expensive drug to treat disabling arthritis, which was ludicrous because it showed the female actor kissing a bird! Pathogens transmitted by birds can cause arthritis. Today, we are inundated with commercials advertising expensive pills for the symptoms of chronic disease and the symptoms of other pills, and commercials for cancer treatment, which show actors sitting with animals on the couch, petting animals, and kissing animals. Close contact with animals can transmit the immortal pathogens that cause chronic diseases.