What is a zoonotic disease?

A zoonotic disease is an illness that jumps from wild or domestic animals to humans, a process called 'spillover'. The document asserts that human activities—including forest loss, land conversion, and the illegal wildlife trade—increase contact with wildlife and the frequency of these events. It notes that three out of four new infectious disease outbreaks originate from animals, with three to four new zoonotic outbreaks occurring globally every year. Examples of such diseases include SARS, HIV, H1N1, Zika, and Ebola.

• Three out of four new infectious disease outbreaks are zoonotic, with three to four new outbreaks of zoonotic disease occurring globally every year.
• Human activities that infringe on wild environments and cause habitat loss increase the risk of 'spillovers', where diseases jump from animals to humans.
• Specific human-led drivers contributing to the emergence of new zoonotic spillovers include land conversion, increased forest loss, and the illegal trade of live wildlife.
• The document identifies several zoonotic diseases and their origins: SARS (bats, civets), HIV (likely primates), H1N1 (pigs), Zika (mosquito), and Ebola (likely bats).

APA

WWF International (n.d.). What is a zoonotic disease? https://www.worldwildlife.org/resources/explainers/what-is-a-zoonotic-disease/

Chicago

WWF International. What is a zoonotic disease? n.d. https://www.worldwildlife.org/resources/explainers/what-is-a-zoonotic-disease/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=What is a zoonotic disease? |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/resources/explainers/what-is-a-zoonotic-disease/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternationalndwhat, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{What is a zoonotic disease?}}, institution = {WWF International}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/resources/explainers/what-is-a-zoonotic-disease/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }