Table of Zoonotic Diseases and Organisms

Click on the disease or organism for more information

Disease	Organism	Main reservoirs	Usual mode of transmission to humans
Anthrax	Bacillus anthracis	livestock, wild animals, environment	direct contact, ingestion
Avian influenza	Influenza virus, avian strains	poultry, ducks	direct contact
Bovine tuberculosis	Mycobacterium bovis	cattle	milk
Brucellosis	Brucella species	cattle, goats, sheep, pigs	dairy products, milk
Cat scratch fever	Bartonella henselae	cats	bite, scratch
Cysticercosis	Taenia species	cattle, pigs	meat
Cryptosporidiosis	Cryptosporidium species	cattle, sheep, pets	water, direct contact
Enzootic abortion	Chlamydophila abortus	farm animals, sheep	direct contact, aerosol
Erysipeloid	Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae	pigs, fish, environment	direct contact
Fish tank granuloma	Mycobacterium marinum	fish	direct contact, water
Food poisoning	Campylobacter species	poultry, farm animals	raw meat, milk
Food poisoning	Salmonella species	poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs	foodborne
Giardiasis	Giardia lamblia	humans, wildlife	waterborne, person to person
Glanders	Burkholderia mallei	horse, donkey, mule	direct contact
Haemorrhagic colitis	Escherichia coli O157	ruminants	direct contact (and foodborne)
Hantavirus syndromes	Hantaviruses	rodents	aerosol
Hepatitis E	Hepatitis E virus	not yet known	not yet known
Hydatid disease	Echinococcus granulosus	dogs, sheep	ingestion of eggs excreted by dog
Leptospirosis	Leptospira species	rodents, ruminants	infected urine, water
Listeriosis	Listeria monocytogenes	cattle, sheep, soil	dairy produce, meat products
Louping ill	Louping ill virus	sheep, grouse	direct contact, tick bite
Lyme disease	Borrelia burgdorferi	ticks, rodents, sheep, deer, small mammals	tick bite
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis	Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus	rodents	direct contact
Orf	Orf virus	sheep	direct contact
Pasteurellosis	Pasteurella multocida	dogs, cats, many mammals	bite/scratch, direct contact
Plague	Yersinia pestis	rats and their fleas	flea bite
Psittacosis	Chlamydophila psittaci	birds, poultry, ducks	aerosol, direct contact
Q fever	Coxiella burnetii	cattle, sheep, goats, cats	aerosol, direct contact, milk, fomites
Rabies	Rabies viruses	cats, dogs, foxes, bats	animal bite
Rat bite fever (Haverhill fever)	Streptobacillus moniliformis	rats	bite/scratch, milk, water
Ringworm	Dermatophyte fungi	cats, dogs, cattle, many animal species	direct contact
Streptococcal sepsis	Streptococcus suis	pigs	direct contact, meat
Streptococcal sepsis	Streptococcus zooepidemicus	horses, cattle	direct contact, milk
Toxocariasis	Toxocara canis/cati	dogs, cats	direct contact
Toxoplasmosis	Toxoplasma gondii	cats, ruminants	ingestion of faecal oocysts, meat
Trichinellosis	Trichinella spiralis	pigs, wild boar	pork products
Tularemia	Francisella tularensis	rabbits, wild animals, environment, ticks	direct contact, aerosol, ticks, inoculation
Zoonotic diphtheria	Corynebacterium ulcerans	cattle, farm animals, dogs	direct contact, milk
West Nile fever	West nile virus	wild birds, mosquitoes	mosquito bite

Related Information

›› Infection risks during the lambing season
›› Specialist and Reference Microbiology Tests and Services
›› South West Zoonoses Group