zoonosis

American  

[zoh-on-uh-sis, zoh-uh-noh-sis] / zoʊˈɒn ə sɪs, ˌzoʊ əˈnoʊ sɪs /

noun

plural

zoonoses

1. Pathology. any disease of animals communicable to humans.

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zoonosis British  

/ ˌzəʊəˈnəʊsɪs, zəʊˈɒnəsɪs /

noun

1. pathol any infection or disease that is transmitted to man from lower vertebrates

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Other Word Forms

• zoonotic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of zoonosis

1875–80; < New Latin, irregular < Greek zōio- zoo- + nósos sickness, with ending apparently conformed to -sis

Explanation

An illness that can be spread between animals and humans is a zoonosis. Rabies is one example of a zoonosis that's transmitted when a rabid animal bites a person. Some kinds of zoonoses can be directly transferred from animal to human, while others go through a third animal that acts as a carrier but shows no symptoms. If a human transmits a disease to an animal, it's known as "reverse zoonosis." The list of zoonoses includes cat scratch disease, anthrax, avian flu, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The word comes from the Greek roots zōon, "animal," and nosos, "disease."

Example Sentences

When these viruses cross over from animals into humans, a process known as zoonosis, they can cause disease outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics such as Ebola, flu or Covid-19.

From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2024

Captive bat studies could also help clarify the risk of what’s called reverse zoonosis, in which humans or other animals infect bats with pathogens they could spread far and wide.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 4, 2023

Newspapers and cable news shows have long treated the lab-leak and zoonosis theories as somehow equivalent, often by asserting that both suffer from lack of evidence.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2023

This is an example of reverse zoonosis that the CDC estimates killed more than half a million people globally.

From Salon • Jan. 24, 2023

A zoonosis is a disease that infects animals but can be transmitted from animals to humans.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013