# A zoonosis is an infectious disease that has jumped from a non-human animal to humans.
# Zoonotic pathogens may be bacterial, viral or parasitic, or may involve unconventional agents and can spread to humans through direct contact or through food, water or the environment.
# Some diseases, such as HIV, begin as a zoonosis but later mutate into human-only strains.
# Other zoonoses can cause recurring disease outbreaks, such as Ebola virus disease and salmonellosis.
# Still others, such as the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, have the potential to cause global pandemics.
# Antimicrobial resistance is a complicating factor in the control and prevention of zoonoses
# Zoonotic pathogens can spread to humans through any contact point with domestic, agricultural or wild animals.
# Markets selling the meat or by-products of wild animals are particularly high risk due to the large number of new or undocumented pathogens known to exist in some wild animal populations.
# Agricultural workers in areas with a high use of antibiotics for farm animals may be at increased risk of pathogens resistant to current antimicrobial drugs.