# List of zoonotic diseases

This is a list of zoonotic diseases, infectious diseases that can jump from a non-human animal to a human.
| Disease | Pathogen(s) | Animals involved | Mode of transmission | Emergence |
| African sleeping sickness | Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense | range of wild animals and domestic livestock | transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly | 'Present in Africa for thousands of years' – major outbreak 1900–1920, cases continue (sub-Saharan Africa, 2020). |
| Angiostrongyliasis | Angiostrongylus cantonensis, Angiostrongylus costaricensis | rats, cotton rats | consuming raw or undercooked snails, slugs, other mollusks, crustaceans, contaminated water, and unwashed vegetables contaminated with larvae |
| Anisakiasis | Anisakis | whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, other marine animals | eating raw or undercooked fish and squid contaminated with eggs |
| Anthrax | Bacillus anthracis | commonly – grazing herbivores such as cattle, sheep, goats, camels, horses, and pigs | by ingestion, inhalation or skin contact of spores |
| Ascariasis | Ascaris suum, Toxocara canis, Toxocara cati | pigs, dogs, cats | ingestion of eggs from contaminated soil, food, or water |
| Avian influenza | Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 | wild birds, domesticated birds such as chickens | close contact | 2003–present avian influenza in Southeast Asia and Egypt. |
| Babesiosis | Babesia spp. | mice, other animals | tick bite |
| Batai virus infection | Batai orthobunyavirus | birds, livestock | mosquito bite |
| Baylisascariasis | Baylisascaris procyonis | raccoons | ingestion of eggs in feces |
| Barmah Forest fever | Barmah Forest virus | kangaroos, wallabies, opossums | mosquito bite | First human case reported in 1986. |
| Botulism | Clostridium botulinum | birds, mammals | ingestion of contaminated food, wound infection, or intestinal colonization |
| Bovine spongiform encephalopathy | Prions | cattle | eating infected meat | Isolated similar cases reported in ancient history; in recent UK history probable start in the 1970s. |
| Brucellosis | Brucella spp. | cattle, goats, pigs, sheep | infected milk or meat | Historically widespread in the Mediterranean region; identified in the early 20th century. |
| Bubonic plague, Pneumonic plague, Septicemic plague, Sylvatic plague | Yersinia pestis | rabbits, hares, rodents, ferrets, goats, sheep, camels | flea bite | Epidemics like Black Death in Europe around 1347–53 during the Late Middle Age; third plague pandemic in China-Qing dynasty and India alone. |
| California encephalitis | California encephalitis virus | small mammals | mosquito bite (Aedes species) | First identified in 1943 in Kern County, California. |
| Campylobacteriosis | Campylobacter spp. | poultry, cattle, pets (dogs and cats) | consumption of contaminated food or water, direct contact with infected animals |
| Capillariasis | Capillaria spp. | rodents, birds, foxes | eating raw or undercooked fish, ingesting embryonated eggs in fecal-contaminated food, water, or soil |
| Capnocytophaga canimorsus infection | Capnocytophaga canimorsus | dogs, cats | bites, scratches, or close contact with animals |
| Cat-scratch disease | Bartonella henselae | cats | bites or scratches from infected cats |
| Chagas disease | Trypanosoma cruzi | armadillos, Triatominae (kissing bug) | Contact of mucosae or wounds with feces of kissing bugs. Accidental ingestion of parasites in food contaminated by bugs or infected mammal excretae. |
| Chikungunya | Alphavirus chikungunya | non-human primates, small mammals, rodents, birds, mosquitoes | mosquito bite (Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus) | First identified in 1952 in Tanzania. |
| Clamydiosis / Enzootic abortion | Chlamydophila abortus | domestic livestock, particularly sheep | close contact with postpartum ewes |
| Clostridioides difficile infection | Clostridioides difficile | cattle, companion animals | fecal-oral route, contact with contaminated surfaces or hands |
| Colorado tick fever | Colorado tick fever virus | small rodents | tick bite (primarily by Dermacentor andersoni, the Rocky Mountain wood tick) |
| COVID-19 | Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 | bats, felines, raccoon dogs, minks, white-tailed deer | respiratory transmission | 2019–present COVID-19 pandemic; ongoing pandemic. |
| Cowpox | Cowpox virus | rodents, cattle, cats | direct contact with infected animals |
| Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease | PrP$^{vCJD}$ | cattle | eating meat from animals with Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) | 1996–2001: United Kingdom. |
| Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever | Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever orthonairovirus | cattle, goats, sheep, birds, hares | tick bite (Hyalomma spp.), human-to-human contact via bodily fluids |
| Cryptococcosis | Cryptococcus neoformans | commonly – birds like pigeons | inhaling fungi |
| Cryptosporidiosis | Cryptosporidium spp. | cattle, dogs, cats, mice, pigs, horses, deer, sheep, goats, rabbits, leopard geckos, birds | ingesting cysts from water contaminated with feces |
| Cysticercosis and taeniasis | Taenia solium, Taenia asiatica, Taenia saginata | commonly – pigs and cattle | consuming water, soil or food contaminated with the tapeworm eggs (cysticercosis) or raw or undercooked pork contaminated with the cysticerci (taeniasis) |
| Dengue fever | Dengue virus | primates | mosquito bite (primarily by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus) | The earliest detailed descriptions of dengue-like illness appeared in medical records from 1779 to 1780, but has had a significant re-emergence in recent years (see for example 2019–20 dengue fever epidemic). |
| Dirofilariasis | Dirofilaria spp. | dogs, wolves, coyotes, foxes, jackals, cats, monkeys, raccoons, bears, muskrats, rabbits, leopards, seals, sea lions, beavers, ferrets, reptiles | mosquito bite |
| Dhori virus infection | Dhori virus | birds, livestock, mammals | tick bite |
| Dobrava-Belgrade virus infection | Dobrava-Belgrade virus | rodents (e.g., yellow-necked mouse) | rodent bite and scratches, inhalation of aerosolized particles from rodent droppings, urine, or nesting materials |
| Eastern equine encephalitis | Eastern equine encephalitis virus | horses, birds, cattle | mosquito bite |
| Ebola | Ebolavirus spp. | chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, fruit bats, monkeys, shrews, forest antelope and porcupines | through body fluids and organs | 2013–16; possibly in Africa. |
| Echinococcosis | Echinococcus spp. | commonly – dogs, foxes, jackals, wolves, coyotes, sheep, pigs, rodents | ingestion of infective eggs from contaminated food or water with feces of an infected definitive host |
| Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection | Shigatoxigenic and verotoxigenic Escherichia coli | cattle, sheep, goats, deer | ingestion of contaminated food or water, direct contact with infected animals or their feces |
| Erysipeloid | Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae | pigs, fish, birds | direct contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products |
| Fasciolosis | Fasciola hepatica, Fasciola gigantica | sheep, cattle, buffaloes | ingesting contaminated plants |
| Fasciolopsiasis | Fasciolopsis buski | pigs | eating raw vegetables such as water spinach |
| Foodborne illnesses (commonly diarrheal diseases) | Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Listeria spp., Shigella spp. and Trichinella spp. | animals domesticated for food production (cattle, poultry) | raw or undercooked food made from animals and unwashed vegetables contaminated with feces |
| Giardiasis | Giardia lamblia | beavers, other rodents, raccoons, deer, cattle, goats, sheep, dogs, cats | ingesting spores and cysts in food and water contaminated with feces |
| Glanders | Burkholderia mallei. | horses, donkeys | direct contact |
| Gnathostomiasis | Gnathostoma spp. | dogs, minks, opossums, cats, lions, tigers, leopards, raccoons, poultry, other birds, frogs | raw or undercooked fish or meat |
| Hantavirus | Hantavirus spp. | deer mice, cotton rats and other rodents | exposure to feces, urine, saliva or bodily fluids |
| Henipavirus | Henipavirus spp. | horses, bats | exposure to feces, urine, saliva or contact with sick horses |
| Hepatitis E | Hepatitis E virus | domestic and wild animals | contaminated food or water |
| Histoplasmosis | Histoplasma capsulatum | birds, bats | inhaling fungi in guano |
| HIV | Simian immunodeficiency virus | non-human primates | contact with infected blood and other bodily fluids, mother-to-infant during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding | Immunodeficiency resembling human AIDS was reported in captive monkeys in the United States beginning in 1983. SIV was isolated in 1985 from some of these animals, captive rhesus macaques who had simian AIDS (SAIDS). The discovery of SIV was made shortly after HIV-1 had been isolated as the cause of AIDS and led to the discovery of HIV-2 strains in West Africa. HIV-2 was more similar to the then-known SIV strains than to HIV-1, suggesting for the first time the simian origin of HIV. Further studies indicated that HIV-2 is derived from the SIVsmm strain found in sooty mangabeys, whereas HIV-1, the predominant virus found in humans, is derived from SIV strains infecting chimpanzees (SIVcpz). |
| Human granulocytic anaplasmosis | Anaplasma phagocytophilum | deer, rodents, humans | tick bite (primarily by Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus) |
| Human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis | Ehrlichia chaffeensis | deer | tick bite (primarily by Amblyomma americanum, the lone star tick) |
| Japanese encephalitis | Japanese encephalitis virus | pigs, water birds | mosquito bite |
| Kyasanur Forest disease | Kyasanur Forest disease virus | rodents, shrews, bats, monkeys | tick bite |
| La Crosse encephalitis | La Crosse virus | chipmunks, tree squirrels | mosquito bite |
| Lassa fever | Lassa mammarenavirus | rodents | contact with urine, feces, or bodily fluids of infected rats; human-to-human transmission via bodily fluids |
| Leishmaniasis | Leishmania spp. | dogs, rodents, other animals | sandfly bite | 2004 Afghanistan. |
| Leprosy | Mycobacterium leprae, Mycobacterium lepromatosis | armadillos, monkeys, rabbits, mice | mostly human-to-human direct contact, meat consumption |
| Leptospirosis | Leptospira interrogans | rats, mice, pigs, horses, goats, sheep, cattle, buffaloes, opossums, raccoons, mongooses, foxes, dogs | direct or indirect contact with urine of infected animals | 1616–20 New England infection; present day in the United States. |
| Louping ill | Louping ill virus | sheep, red grouse, other mammals | tick bite (primarily by Ixodes ricinus) | First human case reported in 1934. |
| Lyme disease | Borrelia burgdorferi | deer, wolves, dogs, birds, rodents, rabbits, hares, reptiles | tick bite |
| Lymphocytic choriomeningitis | Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus | rodents | exposure to urine, feces, or saliva |
| Marburg viral haemorrhagic fever | Marburg virus | Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus), non-human primates | contact with infected bat excreta, bushmeat consumption, or human-to-human transmission via bodily fluids (e.g., blood, saliva, vomit) |
| Mediterranean spotted fever | Rickettsia conorii | dogs, rodents, other mammals | tick bite |
| Melioidosis | Burkholderia pseudomallei | various animals | direct contact with contaminated soil and surface water |
| Microsporidiosis | Encephalitozoon cuniculi | rabbits, dogs, mice, and other mammals | ingestion of spores |
| Middle East respiratory syndrome | MERS coronavirus | bats, camels | close contact | 2012–present: Saudi Arabia. |
| Mpox | Monkeypox virus | rodents, primates | contact with infected rodents, primates, or contaminated materials |
| MRSA infection | Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus | livestock, companion animals | direct contact with infected individuals or contaminated surfaces |
| Nipah virus infection | Nipah virus (NiV) | bats, pigs | direct contact with infected bats, infected pigs |
| O'nyong'nyong fever | O'nyong'nyong virus | reservoir hosts unknown | mosquito bite (Anopheles funestus, Anopheles gambiae) | First identified in 1959 in Uganda. |
| Orf | Orf virus | goats, sheep | close contact |
| Pasteurellosis | Pasteurella multocida | domestic cats, dogs, livestock, and wild animals | bites, scratches, inhalation of aerosols, or contact with infected secretions |
| Powassan encephalitis | Powassan virus | ticks | tick bites |
| Psittacosis (parrot fever) | Chlamydophila psittaci | macaws, cockatiels, budgerigars, pigeons, sparrows, ducks, hens, gulls and many other bird species | contact with bird droplets |
| Puumala virus infection | Puumala virus | bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) | rodent bite or scratches, inhalation of aerosols containing rodent excreta |
| Q fever | Coxiella burnetii | livestock and other domestic animals such as dogs and cats | inhalation of spores, contact with bodily fluid or faeces |
| Rabies | Rabies lyssavirus | commonly – dogs, bats, monkeys, raccoons, foxes, skunks, cattle, goats, sheep, wolves, coyotes, groundhogs, horses, mongooses and cats | through saliva by biting, or through scratches from an infected animal | Variety of places like Oceania, South America, Europe. |
| Rat-bite fever | Streptobacillus moniliformis, Spirillum minus | rats, mice | rat bite of rats, contact with urine and mucus secretions |
| Rift Valley fever | Phlebovirus | livestock, buffaloes, camels | mosquito bite, contact with bodily fluids, blood, tissues, breathing around butchered animals or raw milk | 2006–07 East Africa outbreak. |
| Rocio viral encephalitis | Rocio virus | birds | mosquito bite |
| Rocky Mountain spotted fever | Rickettsia rickettsii | dogs, rodents | tick bite |
| Ross River fever | Ross River virus | kangaroos, wallabies, horses, opossums, birds, flying foxes | mosquito bite |
| Saint Louis encephalitis | Saint Louis encephalitis virus | birds | mosquito bite |
| Seoul virus infection | Seoul virus | rodents | contact with infected rodent saliva, feces, urine, or bites |
| Severe acute respiratory syndrome | SARS coronavirus | bats, civets | close contact, respiratory droplets | 2002–04 SARS outbreak; China. |
| Sindbis fever | Sindbis virus | birds | mosquito bite |
| Smallpox | Variola virus | possibly monkeys and horses | spread from person to person quickly | Last reported case in 1977; certified by WHO to be eradicated (i.e., eliminated worldwide) as of 1980. |
| Streptococcosis | Streptococcus suis | pigs | direct contact with infected pigs or pork products, especially through cuts or abrasions, or inhalation of contaminated aerosols |
| Swine influenza | A new strain of the influenza virus endemic in pigs (excludes H1N1 swine flu, which is a human virus) | pigs | close contact | 2009–10; 2009 swine flu pandemic; Mexico. |
| Taenia crassiceps infection | Taenia crassiceps | wolves, coyotes, jackals, foxes | contact with soil contaminated with feces |
| Tick-borne encephalitis | Tick-borne encephalitis virus | birds, rodents, horses | tick bite (primarily by Ixodes ricinus) |
| Thogotovirus infection | Thogotovirus | livestock, humans | tick bite |
| Toxocariasis | Toxocara spp. | dogs, foxes, cats | ingestion of eggs in soil, fresh or unwashed vegetables or undercooked meat |
| Toxoplasmosis | Toxoplasma gondii | cats, livestock, poultry | exposure to cat feces, organ transplantation, blood transfusion, contaminated soil, water, grass, unwashed vegetables, unpasteurized dairy products and undercooked meat |
| Trichinosis | Trichinella spp. | rodents, pigs, horses, bears, walruses, dogs, foxes, crocodiles, birds | eating undercooked meat |
| Tuberculosis | Mycobacterium bovis | infected cattle, deer, llamas, pigs, domestic cats, wild carnivores (foxes, coyotes) and omnivores (possums, mustelids and rodents) | milk, exhaled air, sputum, urine, faeces and pus from infected animals |
| Tularemia (rabbit fever) | Francisella tularensis | lagomorphs (type A), rodents (type B), birds | ticks, deer flies, and other insects including mosquitoes |
| Valtice fever | Bunyavirus | rodents | mosquito bite |
| Venezuelan equine encephalitis | Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus | horses, donkeys, zebras, birds, rodents | mosquito bite |
| Wesselsbron disease | Wesselsbron virus | sheep, cattle | mosquito bite |
| West Nile fever | Flavivirus | birds, horses | mosquito bite |
| Western equine encephalitis | Western equine encephalitis virus | horses, birds | mosquito bite |
| Yersiniosis | Yersinia enterocolitica | pigs, rodents, cattle | ingestion of contaminated food or water |
| Zika fever | Zika virus | chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, monkeys, baboons | mosquito bite, sexual intercourse, blood transfusion and sometimes bites of monkeys | 2015–16 epidemic in the Americas and Oceania. |