World Zoonoses Day

World Zoonoses Day, is celebrated each year on the anniversary of Louis Pasteur administering the first rabies vaccine to a human in 1885

What's zoonosis?

Zoonosis is an infectious disease that has jumped from non-human animals to humans. Zoonotic pathogens may be bacterial, viral, or parasitic, or may involve unconventional agents.

Illustration by Cory Roberts

They represent a major public health problem around the world due to our close relationship with animals in agriculture, as companions, and in the natural environment.

Contact pathways

Direct contact: the saliva, blood, urine, mucous, feces, or other body fluids of an infected animal.

Indirect contact: areas where animals live and roam, or objects or surfaces that have been contaminated with germs.

Vector-borne: Being bitten by a tick, or an insect-like a mosquito or a flea.

Foodborne: Eating or drinking something unsafe, such as unpasteurized (raw) milk, undercooked meat or eggs, or raw fruits and vegetables that are contaminated with feces from an infected animal.

Waterborne: Drinking or coming in contact with water that has been contaminated with feces from an infected animal.

Prevention and control

Prevention methods for zoonotic diseases differ for each pathogen, despite that several practices are known for their effectiveness in reducing the at personal and community levels.

Existing vaccines should be made available as a form of disease prevention. Animals should also be closely monitored, and data should be analyzed to better compress the diseases.

appropriate guidelines for animal care in the agricultural sector can also help to reduce the potential for foodborne zoonotic disease outbreaks through foods such as meat, eggs, dairy, or even some vegetables.

Protocols for clean drinking water and waste removal, as well as protections for surface water in the natural environment, should be implemented.

References

Health for Animals Zoonoses |. (2021, May 27). Health for Animals. https://www.healthforanimals.org/global-challenges/zoonoses/

‌World. (2020, July 29). Zoonoses. Who.int; World Health Organization: WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/zoonoses

‌Zoonotic Diseases. (2022). https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/basics/zoonotic-diseases.html

‌File: Louis-pasteur---mini-biography.jpg - Wikimedia Commons. (2020). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louis-pasteur---mini-biography.jpg

‌https://www.scitecpov.com/blog/zoonosis-reigns / Illustration by Cory Roberts

Nations, U. (2022). coronavirus-biodiversity_loss.png | United Nations. United Nations; United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/file/53082