Many zoonoses — HIV infection, cholera or salmonellosis - are now perceived as diseases transmitted from person to person. They once made an interspecific transition when a person came into contact with a wild animal — and such processes occur regularly. What factors contribute to this? Why have we been encountering zoonoses more often lately? What helps to reduce the risks of new infections and their spread?
Zoonoses can be caused by a range of disease pathogens such as emergent viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. The emergence of zoonotic diseases originated with the domestication of animals.
Therefore, cases when zoonoses become anthroponoses occur quite a long time ago.
What helps to reduce the risks of new infections and their spread?
WHO cooperates with national Governments, scientific institutions, non-governmental and charitable organizations, as well as regional and international partners in the prevention of zoonotic threats and their impact on public health, social sphere and economy, as well as in the field of appropriate response measures. These efforts include strengthening cooperation at the interface between humans, animals and the environment between various relevant sectors at the regional, national and international levels. WHO is also engaged in capacity-building and promotion of evidence-based and cost-effective practical tools and mechanisms for prevention, surveillance and detection of zoonoses based on reporting, epidemiological and laboratory studies, risk assessment and control, as well as assistance to countries in their implementation.
Various factors contributed to the emergence or revival of vector-borne zoonotic pathogens, but the main ones among them are environmental changes that lead to an increase in the density of arthropod vectors.
@benzol00 Zoonoses can be transmitted to humans through direct contact with an infectious vertebrate host or fomite (i.e., with an inanimate object, such as a piece of clothing that may contain the pathogen); ingestion of contaminated water, food or other organic substances; inhalation; or arthropod vectors.
@benzol00 Zoonoses account for almost three-fifths of the 1,407 infectious organisms known to cause diseases in humans.
@ekaterina-gribacheva Thanks for the full answer. Do you have an up-to-date article on this topic?