What is zoonosis: definition and examples

Author: Peter Berry
Date Of Creation: 12 February 2021
Update Date: 9 May 2024
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WHat is ZOONOSIS | definition | explanation | hindi | English
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The term zoonosis refers to any type of disease that can infect animals and humans. Zoonoses can be divided into categories according to the form of transmission such as anfixenoses, anthropozoonosis, zooanthroponoses and according to the agent's cycle, for example direct zoonosis, cyclozoonosis, metazoonosis, saprozoonosis.

There are several serious diseases that are zoonotic. Continue reading PeritoAnimal, understand what is zoonosis and what are the best known diseases of each type of zoonosis.

Definition of zoonosis

Zoonosis can be defined by the group of diseases that can be transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans in a natural way.

According to the WHO (World Health Organization) there are more than 200 zoonosis-type diseases, that is, more than 60% of the diseases that affect human beings are zoonotic. These diseases can be transmitted directly, through contact with secretions, or indirectly, such as through the consumption of some contaminated product. THE definition of zoonosis comes from two Greek words,"zoo" which means animal and "nose" which means disease.


Zoonosis according to the mode of transmission and agent cycle

As we mentioned earlier, the zoonosis according to the transmission mode, it is divided into:

  • Anfixenoses refers to the group of diseases that affect both animals and humans without any kind of "preference";
  • Anthropozoonosis are the primary animal diseases that humans can be infected with;
  • Zooanthroposes which are the primary human disease that can be transmitted to animals.

Zoonoses according to the agent's cycle can be classified as:

  • Direct zoonosis: the agent successively passes through only one species of vertebrate animal;
  • Cyclozoonosis: in this case, the agents must go through two species of vertebrate animals;
  • Metazoonosis: here the agent must pass through an invertebrate host for its cycle to complete;
  • Saprozoonosis: the agent undergoes transformations in the external environment without parasites.

Main types of zoonosis

Now that you know what zoonosis and its subcategories are, see some examples of zoonotic diseases:


Prion zoonosis:

This type of zoonosis happens when a prion protein over neurodegenerative processes in the animal or in the human. For example, the bovine spongiform encephalopathy or popularly known as mad cow disease.

viral zoonosis

The best known viral-type zoonotic diseases are:

  • Ebola;
  • Anger;
  • Zika;
  • Bird flu;
  • Yellow fever;
  • West Nile Fever;
  • Hantavirus.

bacterial zoonosis

The best known and most important bacterial-type zoonotic diseases are:

  • Bubonic plague;
  • Tuberculosis;
  • Brucellosis;
  • Carbuncle;
  • Samonella;
  • Tularemia;
  • Leptospirosis;
  • Q fever;
  • Cat Scratch Disease.

fungal zoonosis

The best known fungal-type zoonotic diseases:


  • Ringworm;
  • Histoplasmosis;
  • Cryptococcosis;

parasitic zoonosis

These diseases are caused by parasites that are inside the animals. Often, contagion happens through the consumption of meat or fish that were not cooked properly and were contaminated. The best known diseases are:

  • Toxoplasmosis;
  • Trichinellosis;
  • Taeniasis;
  • Anisakis;
  • Amebiasis;
  • Hydatid disease;
  • Sarcoptic mange;
  • Leishmaniasis;
  • Echinococcosis;
  • Diphylobotriasis.

human hydatid

Hydatid disease produces the hydatid cyst. This cyst can appear in any organ, especially liver, lung, etc., and can reach sizes larger than an orange.

This disease is complex, because for its complete development it requires two different subjects or hosts. The first host is the one that carries the worm, whose eggs expand with the animal's feces (usually a dog). These feces contaminate the plants that herbivores consume and the tapeworm eggs develop in the duodenum of the new host (usually sheep). From there, they pass into the bloodstream and adhere to some organ, where the larva creates the dangerous cyst, which can be deadly.

Humans, in many cases, contract this disease by eating lettuce or any other vegetable consumed raw and poorly washed.

If you want to know more about human hydatid disease, check out the YouTube video made by the Secretary of Health of RS:

This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.

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