Zoonosis

noun (countable); plural: zoonoses

/ˌzəʊəˈnəʊsɪs/

A zoonosis (also zoonotic disease) is any infectious disease caused by pathogens — viruses, bacteria, parasites, or prions — that naturally transmits between non-human vertebrate animals and humans, either directly or through vectors. The WHO estimates that 60% of known human infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin, and 75% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses. India's high population density, extensive livestock–human interface, and wildlife-agriculture overlap make zoonoses like rabies (approximately 18,000–20,000 deaths annually, pre-vaccine-expansion), brucellosis, and leptospirosis major public health and One Health policy priorities.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

India's One Health framework, adopted following the COVID-19 pandemic and the persistent threat of avian influenza, recognises zoonosis surveillance at the human-animal-environment interface as the first line of defence against emerging pandemic threats.

Synonyms

zoonotic diseaseanimal-borne diseaseanthroponosis (reverse)vector-borne disease (partial overlap)spillover infection

Antonyms

anthroponosis (disease transmissible only from humans to animals)non-communicable diseaseiatrogenic disease

🌱 Word Family

zoonotic (adjective), zoonotically (adverb), zoo (shortened derivative), protozoon (related), anthropozoonosis (noun — directionally specific variant)

🔡 Root

Greek zōon = animal (living being) + nosos = disease

📜 Etymology

Coined in German as Zoonose by Rudolf Virchow in 1880, from Greek zōon (animal, living being) and nosos (disease). Virchow, the father of modern pathology, introduced the term to describe diseases shared between animals and humans, underpinning his advocacy for integrated veterinary and human medicine — the earliest articulation of what is now called One Health. English adopted the term as zoonosis in the late 19th century.

🧠 Memory Hook

Zoonosis = zoo (animals) + nosis (disease) — a disease from the zoo jumping to you. Literally 'animal disease' — think of COVID-19 emerging from a wet market, rabies from a dog bite, or leptospirosis from rat urine: all animals passing disease to humans.

⚗️ General Science 📖 Seen in: Human Body Systems — Organ Systems, Ph...

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