Listen to Story In the post-Covid-19 era, scientists remain on high alert for infections emerging from every corner of the world. After bird flu began annihilating millions of animals in the UK, US, Australia, Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands, in 2021, several variants of H5N1 emerged, including the less virulent H9N2 strain in India's West Bengal. Meanwhile, mpox, earlier known as monkeypox , made headlines for its global spread in 2022.
These viruses, which were first found in animals, have now successfully jumped to humans, transmitting newer infections, the nature of which is keeping scientists on their toes. WHAT IS THIS PHENOMENON? This phenomenon of animal-to-human transmission is known as zoonoses and the diseases are called zoonotic diseases. These infections are caused by a pathogen, which could be bacteria, virus, fungi or parasites that jump from animals to humans in close contact.
The most common zoonoses have been Ebola, and salmonellosis, which have shown recurring outbreaks. Some diseases, such as HIV, which began as a zoonosis, later mutated into human-only strains. The latest in the least of similar transmission are mpox, bird flu and the SARS-C0V-2 that led to the Covid-19 pandemic.
These illnesses are increasingly becoming a public health concern, especially with the rising interaction between humans and animals. After bird flu began annihilating millions of animals across the globe. (Photo: AFP) Microbiologist Dr Varsha Shridhar, who specialises i.