zoonosis
noun
zoo·no·sis
zō-ˈä-nə-səs
ˌzō-ə-ˈnō-səs
plural zoonoses
zō-ˈä-nə-ˌsēz
ˌzō-ə-ˈnō-ˌsēz
: an infection or disease that is transmissible from animals to humans under natural conditions
Ebola fever is a zoonosis. So, as their names suggest, are the swine- and bird-flu strains that keep epidemiologists awake at night.—The Economist
Among the zoonoses associated with dogs, cats, and birds, those with diarrhea as a predominant manifestation include cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis, campylobacteriosis, and salmonellosis.—Peter Jesselet et al.
also
: an infection or disease that is transmissible between animals and humans
bidirectional zoonosis
see also reverse zoonosis
zoonotic
adjective
a zoonotic infection/disease
A zoonotic virus is a virus that lives naturally in an animal and can infect human cells, perhaps mutating slightly in the course of passage, which enables the virus to start a chain of infection through human hosts.
—Richard Preston
Cite this Entry
“Zoonosis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zoonosis. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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