Zoonosis
- Some diseases are species specific whilst others can cross species barriers to infect multiple different species
- Species-specific disease may be unable to cross the species barrier for many reasons:
- If a species does not possess the necessary receptors to be at risk of infection
- If the body temperature of the organism doesn't reach temperatures required for the development of the disease
- Zoonotic diseases are those which can cross the species barrier from animal to human
- This is a growing global concern due to the close relationships between humans and animals meaning the disease may be difficult to control and eradicate
- This may potentially lead to pandemics such as that caused by COVID-19
- Animal products may also be affected by zoonotic disease which poses a further issue
- Some zoonotic diseases can initially emerge from animal populations before developing into human only strains e.g. HIV
Table to show some examples of human only and zoonotic diseases
