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Article: Zoonoses
- Article from:
- World of Microbiology and Immunology
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Zoonoses
Zoonoses are diseases of microbiological origin that can be transmitted from animals to people. The causes of the diseases can be
bacteria
,
viruses
,
parasites
, and
fungi
.
Zoonoses are relevant for humans because of their species-jumping ability. Because many of the causative microbial agents are resident in domestic animals and birds, agricultural workers and those in food processing plants are at risk. From a research standpoint, zoonotic diseases are interesting as they result from organisms that can live in a host innocuously while producing disease upon entry into a different host environment.
Humans can develop zoonotic diseases in different ways, depending ...