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Have you ever heard about Zoonoses? World Zoonoses Day is observed around the world on 6th July. For those who are not familiar with the term, Zoonoses or Zoonosis is a disease that is infectious and caused by a pathogen. The disease can spread from an infectious agent like Bacteria, parasites and viruses etc. It can spread from vertebrate animals to humans or vice versa. Salmonellosis and Ebola are Zoonoses that rapidly spread in the early stages of the 20th century. It can spread through direct contact with vertebrates, vector-borne or food borne contact. When Louis Pasture was successful in finding a vaccine against Rabies Virus, a zoonotic disease, World Zoonoses Day is observed to commemorate his success. Read below to know more about World Zoonoses Day 2023 theme and other information.
World Zoonoses Day 2023: Date
The World Zoonoses Dat 2023 date is 6th July. Let us take a look at the history, significance, causes, list of diseases and important quotes on World Zoonoses Day.
History and Significance of Zoonoses Day 2023
The word Zoonoses is of Greek origin. ‘Zoon’ means animal and ‘Noses’ means sickness. Humans have a very long history with animals. Be it for hunting or keep them as pets. In the earlier periods, the spread of diseases of epidemics was not so frequent. But in the recent times, population explosion and easy reach of people has paved a way for diseases and epidemics to spread in a faster pace. Most of the modern diseases began as zoonotic diseases, for example – measles, small pox and influenza etc. On 6th July, World Zoonoses Day is observed all over the world since 1885. The main motive of this day is to raise awareness of the risks of Zoonotic diseases.
The zoonotic diseases spread very rapidly. That is the main reason why awareness is needed to be spread. People need to know the history and causes of the disease to be aware of its dangers. Humans come in contact with cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, dogs etc. in their routine life. People or the veterinary professionals are often unaware of the infections the animal could be carrying. People need to educate themselves of the safety measures one has to undertake in such situations.
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List of Zoonotic Diseases
Disease |
Pathogen | Animals Involved | Mode of Transmission |
African sleeping sickness | Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense | Range of wild animals and domestic livestock |
Bite of the tsetse fly |
Angiostrongyliasis |
Angiostrongylus cantonensis,
Angiostrongylus costaricensis |
rats, cotton rats | Eating raw or under cooked snails, |
Anisakiasis |
Anisakis | marine animals |
undercooked fish squid contaminated with eggs |
Anthrax | Bacillus anthracis | cattle,
sheep, goats, camels |
inhalation or skin contact of spores |
Babesiosis |
Babesia spp. | mice, other animals | tick bite |
Baylisascariasis | Baylisascaris procyonis | raccoons |
ingestion of eggs in feces |
Barmah Forest fever |
Barmah Forest virus | kangaroos, wallabies, opossums | mosquito bite |
Bird flu | Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 | wild birds |
close contact |
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy |
Prions | cattle | eating infected meat |
Brucellosis | Brucella spp. | cattle,
goats, pigs, sheep |
Consuming infected meat |
Bubonic plague, Pneumonic plague, Septicemic plague, Sylvatic plague |
Yersinia pestis | Rabbits
rodents, ferrets, |
flea bite |
Capillariasis |
Capillaria spp. | rodents,
birds |
eating raw or undercooked fish |
Cat-scratch disease | Bartonella henselae | cats | bites or scratches from infected cats |
Chagas disease | Trypanosoma cruzi | armadillos, |
Contact of mucosae |
Clamydiosis / Enzootic abortion |
Chlamydophila abortus | sheep | contact with postpartum ewes |
COVID-19 |
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) | suspected – bats,
felines |
respiratory transmission |
Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease |
PrPvCJD | cattle | Eating meat with Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) |
Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever | Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever orthonairovirus | cattle,
goats, sheep, birds |
tick bite, contact with bodily fluids |
Cryptococcosis |
Cryptococcus neoformans | pigeons | inhaling fungi |
Cryptosporidiosis | Cryptosporidium spp. | deer,
sheep, goats, rabbits,
|
ingesting cysts from water contaminated with excretion |
Cysticercosis and taeniasis |
Taenia solium, Taenia asiatica, Taenia saginata | commonly – pigs and cattle | food contaminated with the tapeworm eggs |
Dirofilariasis | Dirofilaria spp. | dogs,
wolves, coyotes, foxes, jackals |
mosquito bite |
Eastern equine encephalitis, | Eastern equine encephalitis virus, | horses,
donkeys, zebras, birds |
mosquito bite |
Ebola virus disease | Ebola virus spp. | chimpanzees,
gorillas, orangutans |
through body fluids and organs |
Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, Dengue fever | Varies – commonly viruses | camels,
rabbits, hares,
|
infection takes place with direct contact of infected animals |
Echinococcosis | Echinococcus spp. |
jackals, wolves, pigs, rodents |
infective eggs from contaminated food |
Fasciolosis | Fasciola hepatica, Fasciola gigantica | sheep,
cattle, buffaloes |
ingesting contaminated plants |
Foodborne illnesses | Campylobacter spp. | cattle,
poultry |
raw or undercooked food |
Giardiasis | Giardia lamblia | raccoons,
sheep, dogs, cats |
ingesting spores and cysts in food |
Glanders | Burkholderia mallei. | horses, donkeys | direct contact |
Gnathostomiasis | Gnathostoma spp. | cats,
lions
|
raw or undercooked fish or meat |
Hantavirus | Hantavirus spp. | deer mice,
cotton rats |
exposure to feces, urine, saliva |
Henipavirus | Henipavirus spp. | horses, bats | exposure to feces, urine |
Histoplasmosis | Histoplasma capsulatum | birds,
bats |
inhaling fungi in guano |
HIV | SIV Simian immunodeficiency virus | Non-human primates | Blood |
Japanese encephalitis | Japanese encephalitis virus | pigs,
water birds |
mosquito bite |
Kyasanur Forest disease | Kyasanur Forest disease virus | rodents,
shrews, bats, monkeys |
tick bite |
La Crosse encephalitis | La Crosse virus | chipmunks,
tree squirrels |
mosquito bite |
Leishmaniasis | Leishmania spp. | dogs,
rodents |
sand fly bite |
Leprosy | Mycobacterium leprae, Mycobacterium lepromatosis | armadillos,
monkeys |
Uncooked meat consumption. |
Leptospirosis | Leptospira interrogans | raccoons,
dogs |
contact with urine of infected animals |
Lassa fever | Lassa fever virus | rodents | exposure to rodents |
Lyme disease | Borrelia burgdorferi | deer,
wolves, rabbits, hares |
tick bite |
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis | Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus | rodents | exposure to urine, feces, or saliva |
Melioidosis | Burkholderia pseudomallei | various animals | Touching contaminated soil |
Microsporidiosis | Encephalitozoon cuniculi | Rabbits, dogs, other mammals | ingestion of spores |
Middle East respiratory syndrome | MERS coronavirus | bats, camels | close contact |
Monkeypox | Monkeypox virus | rodents, primates | contact with infected rodents, |
Nipah virus infection | Nipah virus (NiV) | bats, pigs | contact with infected bats, infected pigs |
Orf | Orf virus | goats, sheep | close contact |
Psittacosis | Chlamydophila psittaci | bird species | contact with bird droplets |
Q fever | Coxiella burnetii | dogs and cats | inhalation of spores |
Rabies | Rabies virus | foxes,
skunks, |
through saliva by biting, or through scratches from an infected animal |
Rat-bite fever | Streptobacillus moniliformis, Spirillum minus | rats, mice |
bites of rats urine and mucus secretions |
Rift Valley fever | Phlebovirus | livestock,
buffaloes, camels |
mosquito bite, breathing around butchered animals |
Rocky Mountain spotted fever | Rickettsia rickettsii | dogs, rodents | tick bite |
Ross River fever | Ross River virus | kangaroos,
birds, |
mosquito bite |
Saint Louis encephalitis | Saint Louis encephalitis virus | birds | mosquito bite |
Severe acute respiratory syndrome | SARS coronavirus | bats, civets | close contact, respiratory droplets |
Smallpox | Variola virus | Possible Monkeys or horses | Spreads from person to person quickly |
Swine influenza | A new strain of the influenza virus in pigs | pigs | close contact |
Taenia crassiceps infection | Taenia crassiceps | Wolves
jackals |
contact with soil contaminated with feces |
Toxocariasis | Toxocara canis, Toxocara cati | dogs, foxes, cats | fresh or unwashed vegetables undercooked meat |
Toxoplasmosis | Toxoplasma gondii | cats,
livestock, poultry |
exposure to cat feces, organ transplantation, blood transfusion, contaminated soil, |
Trichinosis | Trichinella spp. | pigs,
horses, walruses, dogs |
consuming undercooked meat |
Tuberculosis | Mycobacterium bovis | infected cattle,
deer, llamas, pigs |
milk, exhaled air, sputum, urine |
Tularemia | Francisella tularensis | lagomorphs
birds |
ticks, deer flies, mosquitoes |
West Nile fever | Flavivirus | birds,
horses |
mosquito bite |
Zika fever | Zika virus | chimpanzees,
gorillas, orangutans,
|
mosquito bite, sexual intercourse, |
World Zoonoses Day 2023 Quotes
- Michael G Cordingley quoted “The accelerating pace of zoonotic transmission of novel viruses into humans is attributable to anthropogenic epidemiologic factors. Only behavior modification or medical management of this future health burden will minimize the risks of future zoonoses for human populations.”
- Manage food properly by cooking it well and then storing it safely to avoid zoonotic diseases.
World Zoonoses Day 2023 Quiz
Q1. What is a zoonotic disease?
- A disease caused by bacteria
- A disease caused by a virus
- A disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans
- A disease that can be transmitted from humans to animals
Q2. Which of the following organizations is dedicated to the prevention of zoonotic diseases?
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)
- All of the above
Q3. Which of the following is a common symptom of zoonotic diseases?
- Fever
- Headache
- Fatigue
- All of the above
Q4. Which of the following animals is a common carrier of the hantavirus?
- Deer
- Rats
- Squirrels
- Snakes
Q5. How can zoonotic diseases be transmitted from animals to humans?
- Through direct contact with an infected animal
- Through consumption of contaminated food or water
- Through insect bites
- All of the above
Q6. Which of the following is NOT a zoonotic disease?
- Rabies
- Anthrax
- Diabetes
- Lyme disease
Q7. Which of the following is NOT a preventive measure for zoonotic diseases?
- Vaccination of pets and livestock
- Proper hand hygiene
- Wearing gloves while handling animals
- Using antibiotics for all animal infections
Q8 Which of the following is a common preventive measure for tick-borne zoonotic diseases?
- Wearing long-sleeved clothing
- Using insect repellent
- Checking for ticks after spending time outdoors
- All of the above
We hope this article on World Zoonoses Day 2023 provides you with enough information and helps you to create awareness about the disease. For latest and interesting GK updates, download Entri App. Check List of Revolutions in the World.