Welcome to the Zoonosis Chronicles
Picture this as the opening hall of a grand museum.
Every door leads to a different mystery. Every corridor connects animals, humans, and the invisible organisms that travel between them.
This featured page is your anchor hub for everything zoonotic on The Vet Vortex - past, present, and emerging.
Whether you’re a curious pet parent, a student, a farmer, or just someone who likes knowing why vets care so much about handwashing, you’re in the right place.
What Is Zoonosis?
Zoonosis refers to diseases that can naturally move between animals and humans.
They may be caused by:
- Viruses
- Bacteria
- Parasites
- Fungi
- Prions
Some cause barely a ripple.
Others rewrite history.
Most sit quietly in the background - controlled by good hygiene, vaccination, food safety, and smart veterinary care.
Zoonosis isn’t rare.
It’s reality.
Why Zoonoses Matter
- Over half of known human infectious diseases are zoonotic
- Most emerging diseases start in animals
- Pets, livestock, wildlife, and humans now interact more than ever
- Climate change and globalization are expanding disease pathways
Understanding zoonoses helps:
- Protect families
- Protect pets
- Protect food systems
- Protect communities
Knowledge here isn’t panic.
It’s preparedness.
How Zoonotic Diseases Are Classified
By Cause
- Viral zoonoses
- Bacterial zoonoses
- Parasitic zoonoses
- Fungal zoonoses
- Prion diseases
By Transmission
- Direct contact
- Indirect/environmental exposure
- Vector-borne (ticks, mosquitoes, fleas)
- Foodborne
- Airborne (rare but important)
By Animal Reservoir
- Companion animals
- Livestock
- Wildlife
- Birds
- Rodents
- Bats
- Aquatic species
The One Health Connection
Zoonotic diseases live at the crossroads of:
Animal Health • Human Health • Environmental Health
You can’t fix one without addressing the others.
This is why veterinarians are public health professionals - even when no one is watching.
How This Series Works
Each disease in this series is explored using a cinematic, story-driven format, broken into clear, friendly sections:
- What it is
- How it spreads
- Why it matters
- Symptoms in animals and humans
- Diagnosis and treatment
- Prevention
- Prognosis
- Zoonotic implications
- Myth-busting
No jargon dumps.
No fear tactics.
Just clarity, context, and calm guidance.
Zoonotic Disease Index (A-Z)
This is the master list for the series. Each item will link to its own full Vet Vortex article.
A
- Aujeszky’s disease (Pseudorabies)
- Alveolar echinococcosis
- Amebiasis (animal-associated)
- Anaplasmosis
- Anthrax
- Arenavirus diseases
- Ascariasis (zoonotic species)
- Avian influenza
- Australian bat lyssavirus
- Argentine hemorrhagic fever
B
- Babesiosis
- Bacterial sepsis from animal bites
- Balamuthia mandrillaris infection
- Baylisascariasis
- Bhanja virus
- Borreliosis (Lyme disease)
- Bovine tuberculosis
- Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
- Brucellosis
- Buffalo pox
C
- Campylobacteriosis
- Capnocytophaga infection
- Cat-scratch disease
- Cestodiasis
- Chagas disease
- Chikungunya
- Cisticercosis (pork tapeworm)
- Cowpox
- Cryptococcosis
- Cryptosporidiosis
- Cystic echinococcosis
D
E
- Eastern equine encephalitis
- Ebola
- Echinococcosis
- Ehrlichiosis
- Encephalomyocarditis virus
- Enterohemorrhagic E. coli
- Erysipeloid
F
- Fascioliasis
- Filariasis (zoonotic species)
- Foot-and-mouth disease (rare human infection)
- Tularemia (Francisella tularensis)
- Feline cowpox
- Feline toxoplasmosis
G
- Giardiasis
- Glanders
- Guanarito virus
- Guinea worm zoonotic infection
H
- Hantavirus disease
- Helminthic zoonoses
- Hemorrhagic fever viruses (rodent-borne)
- Hepatitis E (genotypes 3 & 4)
- Histoplasmosis
- Hydatid disease
- Hendra virus
I
- Influenza A (zoonotic variants)
- Ixodes-transmitted diseases
- Icterohemorrhagic leptospirosis
- Isosporiasis
J
- Japanese encephalitis
- Junin virus infection
K
- Kyasanur forest disease
- Kunjin virus
- Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF)
L
- Lagos bat virus
- Lassa fever
- Leishmaniasis
- Leptospirosis
- Listeriosis
- Louping ill
- Lyme disease
- Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV)
M
- Machupo virus
- Zoonotic malaria (Plasmodium knowlesi, etc.)
- Marburg virus
- Melioidosis
- MERS-CoV
- Monkeypox (Mpox)
- Mycobacterium bovis infection
- Murine typhus
N
- Naegleria infections
- Nipah virus
- Norovirus (animal-associated variants)
- Nematode zoonoses
O
- Omsk hemorrhagic fever
- Opisthorchiasis
- Oropouche fever
- Orf (contagious ecthyma)
P
- Paragonimiasis
- Pasteurellosis
- Plague (Yersinia pestis)
- Psittacosis
- Pseudorabies (rare zoonotic variants)
- Q fever
R
- Rabies
- Rat-bite fever
- Rift Valley fever
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- Ross River virus
- Rickettsialpox
S
- Salmonellosis
- SARS-CoV
- SARS-CoV-2
- Schistosomiasis (zoonotic species)
- Scrub typhus
- Streptococcus suis infection
- Strongyloidiasis
- Swine influenza
T
- Taeniasis
- Toxocariasis
- Toxoplasmosis
- Trichinellosis
- Trypanosomiasis
- Tularemia
- Tick-borne encephalitis
U
- Uukuniemi virus infection
- Undifferentiated tick-borne fevers
V
- Vaccinia virus infection
- Venezuelan equine encephalitis
- Vesicular stomatitis virus
- Variola virus (historic origins)
W
- West Nile virus
- Weil’s disease (severe leptospirosis)
- Western equine encephalitis
X
- Xenotropic viral infections
Y
- Yellow fever
- Yersiniosis
Z
- Zika virus
- Zoonotic scabies
- Zoonotic poxviruses
- Zygomycosis
What Pet Parents Can Do Today
- Keep pets vaccinated and dewormed
- Practice good hygiene after animal contact
- Avoid raw or undercooked animal products
- Control fleas, ticks, and rodents
- Avoid handling sick or dead wildlife
- Seek veterinary advice early when pets seem unwell
Small habits.
Big protection.
The Vet Vortex Promise
This page will grow.
New diseases will be added.
Old myths will be dismantled.
Emerging threats will be explained - calmly, clearly, and without panic.
Because the goal isn’t fear.
It’s understanding.
Final Note from Your Friendly Vet
Zoonoses remind us that humans and animals share more than space - we share biology, environments, and responsibility.
With knowledge, compassion, and good veterinary care, that shared world becomes safer for everyone.
Welcome to the Zoonosis Chronicles.
You’re officially part of the story.
