Within the area of medicine, the word zoonosis is defined as a series of contagious diseases transmitted to humans by being in direct or indirect contact with a sick animal. In the same way, these diseases can be contracted by consuming foods of animal origin that do not present sanitary controls or by ingesting raw fruits or vegetables without being washed properly.
The causative agents of zoonosis are diverse, some of them are: viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi. Among the diseases caused by viruses can be mentioned:
Rabies: this zoonotic disease affects all mammals, both aerial (bats), and terrestrial (dogs, cats, foxes, wolves, etc.). This virus is transmitted to humans through a bite or by being in direct contact with the mucosa of the infected animal. It usually affects the central nervous system.
Yellow fever: this virus is very dangerous and is transmitted by the " Aedes aegypti " mosquito. When the disease is mild, it usually manifests with the following symptoms: headache, high fever, chills and in the most severe cases it can cause liver or kidney failure, gingivorrhagia, etc.
Among the diseases caused by bacteria are:
Leptospirosis: is a zoonotic disease suffered by certain wild and domestic animals. It can be transmitted to humans through contact with the urine or feces of the infected animal or through contaminated water or soil. This is one of the most common zoonotic diseases and also one of the deadliest. Its symptoms at first are very similar to a normal cold (fever, muscle aches, headaches, etc.) hence it is difficult to diagnose in time.
Brucellosis: it is a highly contagious disease that can be transmitted to humans through direct contact with the infected animal or its droppings. L bacteria as they enter the human body when ingested person especially unpasteurized milk from goat or sheep. Among the first symptoms are: sweating, fever, headache, etc.
One of the diseases caused by fungi is:
Cryptococcosis: this fungus can be acquired by humans by being in contact with soils contaminated with bird droppings, transmission is carried out by inhaling the fungus, with HIV patients being the ones most at risk of becoming infected.
Finally there are the diseases caused by parasites, one of the most common is toxoplasmosis, this disease is transmitted to humans by direct contact with cat feces, this being the main transmitter of the disease. Another way to contract the disease is through the consumption of food that is contaminated with the parasite. Its initial symptoms are muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, headache.
