What is a zoonotic disease?

Small goat with his head resting on a rope

Diseases that can jump between animals and people are called zoonotic. Rabies can spread from an animal to a person through saliva, like through a dog bite. Anthrax can come from touching infected livestock with a cut on your hand or eating the meat of a sick animal. Some zoonotic diseases can jump from animals to people, and then start spreading from person to person. Some estimates suggest that at least 60% of emerging infectious diseases in humans have spilled over from animals.

Each priority zoonotic disease has unique characteristics, and knowledge about these diseases is constantly evolving. Yet, there are certain elements that remain more or less constant and are useful for designing behavioral research. These characteristics include the pathogen type, the animal reservoirs, modes of transmission, at risk populations, and whether vaccines are available.

The table below summarizes some basic characteristics about each disease[2], and it can be filtered and downloaded based on the research questions and topics of interest. The table links out to fact sheets that are updated by the World Health Organization or other sources.

After reviewing the zoonotic diseases below, proceed to behaviors (“Zoonotic Behaviors”) that intersect with the priority zoonotic disease.

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Zoonotic Behaviors
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Zoonotic Diseases

wdt_ID Disease Disease Category Country Pathogen Type Suspected Animal Host Known Transmission Routes Vaccine Available At-Risk Populations More information
3 Yellow fever Viral hemorrhagic fever Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Nigeria virus mosquito human-human, animal-human human forest workers https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/yellow-fever
5 Ebola Viral hemorrhagic fever Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda virus bat animal-animal, animal-human, human-human human health workers, lab workers, hunters, women, miners https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/ebola-virus-disease
6 Lassa Fever Viral hemorrhagic fever Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone virus rats/rodents animal-human, human-human health workers, lab workers https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/lassa-fever
7 Marburg Viral hemorrhagic fever Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda virus bat animal-human, human-human health workers, lab workers https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/marburg-haemorrhagic-fever
8 Rift valley fever Viral hemorrhagic fever Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone virus cattle, sheep, goats, camels, arthopod vectors animal-animal, animal-human animal health workers, vets, lab workers, livestock/poultry farmers, abattoir workers, livestock/poultry sellers, handlers of livestock products https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/rift-valley-fever
9 HPAI/avian influenza Respiratory disease Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda virus poultry animal-animal, animal-human, human-human human, animal livestock/poultry farmers, livestock/poultry sellers, women, children https://www.who.int/health-topics/influenza-avian-and-other-zoonotic#tab=tab_1
10 Anthrax Bacterial Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda bacteria cattle, sheep, goats, camels, antelope/deer animal-human animal, human vets, lab workers, livestock/poultry farmers, abattoir workers, livestock/poultry sellers, handlers of livestock products, military personnel https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/anthrax
11 Rabies Other virus Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda virus bat, cats, dogs (or similar - foxes animal-human animal, human vets, lab workers, dog owners https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/rabies
12 Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever Viral hemorrhagic fever Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Mali, Senegal virus arthopod vectors animal-human, human-human lab workers, livestock/poultry farmers, livestock/poultry sellers, handlers of livestock products https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/crimean-congo-haemorrhagic-fever
13 Swine flu Respiratory disease Guinea, Sierra Leone, Uganda virus pigs animal-animal, animal-human, human-human animal, human livestock/poultry sellers https://www.cdc.gov/flu/swineflu/
14 Trypanosomiasis Vectorborne Ghana, Uganda parasite cattle, sheep, goats, horses, pigs, dogs (or similar - foxes, camels animal-human https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/trypanosomiasis-african
15 Brucellosis Bacterial Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Niger, Uganda bacteria cattle, sheep, goats, pigs animal-human animal vets, livestock/poultry farmers, abattoir workers https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/brucellosis
16 Bovine tuberculosis Bacterial Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda bacteria cattle animal-animal, animal-human, human-human animal, human livestock/poultry farmers, livestock/poultry sellers https://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/general/mbovis.htm
17 Mpox Other virus DRC, Nigeria virus chimps or other monkeys, rope squirrel animal-animal, animal-human, human-human human forest workers, lab workers, hunters https://www.who.int/health-topics/monkeypox#tab=tab_1
18 Dengue Vectorborne Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Ghana virus mosquito animal-human human children https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dengue-and-severe-dengue
Disease Category Country Pathogen Type Known Transmission Routes Vaccine Available At-Risk Populations