6 types of diseases that can be transmitted between species

The infections and deaths caused by the coronavirus, which have astonished the world in recent days, bring to the fore the debate on prevention and also highlight the diseases that are transmitted from animals to people, so-called zoonoses. 

1. Coronavirus

It was in Wuhan, China, that the Covid-19 was first identified. Genetic analyses show that it originated in bats, but there are suspicions - without exact proof - that some other animal acted as an intermediary in the transmission of the disease to humans.

2. The influenza pandemic

In 1918, about 50 million people were killed by influenza outbreak. The H1N1 Influenza virus was of avian origin and infected more than one third of the globe.

In 2009, another virus of the same type emerged, with up to 500,000 deaths registered all over the planet, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This latest one originated in pigs.

3. Bubonic plague

In the 14th century, there were about 360 million people on Earth. Of these, 75 million died as a result of the Black Death, as the bubonic plague was also called.

The disease is caused by a bacterium present in rodents and even cats called Yersinia pestis. It is passed on to humans through infected flea bites.

4. Diseases from insect bites

Mosquitoes lead the ranking of diseases caused by bites and stings. Malaria, one of the most serious of these, infected some 228 million people worldwide in 2018, with 405,000 deaths, mostly children.

Another disease is dengue, which causes thousands of deaths every year and is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

5. Pets

Dogs are man's best friends. But they are also the main culprits for the transmission of rabies, a disease that kills approximately 55,000 people a year. Generally, the dog transmits rabies after biting a person.

6. HIV/AIDS

In conclusion, a disease that today can be controlled in a drug way, but which still has no cure and has killed more than 700,000.

Originally, it is believed that HIV was transmitted among chimpanzees and then passed on to humans.