What´s Zoonosis?

Zoonosis are infectious diseases that have been transmitted between animals and humans or in its advanced stage from human to human. It also can be transmitted from human to animal, when that happens it is called reverse zoonosis Emerging zoonosis are infectious diseases that are newly recognized or newly evolved while re-emergence zoonosis have occurred previously but have more recently shown an increase in incidence or expansion into a new geographic, host or vector range. The concept of ‘emerging diseases’ developed as health scientists documented and tried to explain the apparent abrupt rise in the number of new and important infectious diseases over the past two decades (Bengis et al., 2004). Zoonosis can be transmitted in different ways: 1)Viral, where some of the most known are: HIV, Ebola virus, Hantavirus, Rabies, Hendra virus, Nipah virus, Menangle virus infection, West Nile virus infection, Severe acute respiratory syndrome, Avian influenza and Monkeypoxvirus infection. 2) Bacterial: Lyme borreliosis, Ehrlichiosis, Bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis), Brucella, Tularemia, Plague and Leptospirosis. 3) Parasite: Cysticercosis/Taeniasis, Rematodosis, Echinococcosis/Hydatidosis, Toxoplasmosis and Trichinellosis. 4) Dermatophytoses and Sporotrichosis

Zoonosis has been an unknown threat to human kind since the ancient times when sanitation was not a concern, and the consumption of bushmeat was largely spread. Zoonosis infection diseases started to become a real problem in society when agriculture started. People used to live in small groups and rarely have contact with different tribes. It all changed when planting crops at one site started, people started to crowd in small towns that rapidly became cities. Once a popu...

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...vel disease agent (Bengis et al., 2004). Exotic Pet Trade; livestock Transport (Greger, 2007).

Although there are four forms of zoonosis, two of them are much more spread out and available for contraction. The first one is viral, since transmission through air is much more rapid and fast. Zoonotic viral infection can become a real problem if well established in the area and even worse if adapted for human to human transmission. That being said, it might become an endemic problem in some regions or populations if not treated. And if not properly controlled it might turn into a pandemic situation spreading throughout the whole country and nearby counties or even worldwide. The second one is bacteria, which does not spread as rapidly as viral but still have a significant impact on the animal and human populations. It can cause foodborne and waterborne contaminations.