ZOONOTIC DISEASE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci and Tech)

Context: With another variant of COVID marking its presence across India, the Union health ministry has sought to emphasize that it's been increasing its focus on zoonotic diseases–infections typically spread from animals to people.

Zoonotic Disease

• About: It is a disease that has passed into the human population from an animal source directly or through an intermediary species.
• Zoonotic infections: It can be bacterial, viral, or parasitic in nature, with animals playing a vital role in maintaining such infections.
• Examples: HIV-AIDS, Ebola, Lyme disease, malaria, rabies, West Nile fever, and the current novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) disease.
• Common zoonotic diseases in India: Rabies, anthrax, brucellosis, plague, bovine tuberculosis, leptospirosis and salmonellosis.
• According to the World Health Organisation: Zoonotic pathogens may be bacterial, viral or parasitic, and can spread to humans through direct contact or through food, water or the environment.

Government Initiatives

• National One Health Programs for Prevention and Control of Zoonoses, 
• National Rabies Control Programs, 
• Program for Prevention and Control of Leptospirosis, 
• Snake Bite Prevention and Control, 
• National Programme on AMR Containment, 
• National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health (NPCHH).