Emerging Zoonotic Diseases

What is the One Health approach?

It recognises that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are interconnected and must be considered together in disease prevention and control.

What role do carrier hosts play in zoonoses?

They often show no symptoms but carry and transmit pathogens, complicating detection and management of outbreaks.

How did COVID-19 demonstrate zoonotic fears?

It showed how a virus stable in animals (e.g., bats) could become highly unstable in humans, leading to rapid global transmission.

Why was Ebola easier to contain than COVID?

Ebola is only transmissible after symptom onset, allowing isolation to prevent spread, whereas COVID spreads while hosts are asymptomatic or presymptomatic.

What pre-pandemic modelling predictions were ignored?

That increased globalisation and habitat destruction would drive more outbreaks — yet governments delayed implementing preparedness measures.

Why are RNA viruses particularly dangerous in zoonoses?

Their genomes recombine and mutate rapidly, making them harder to control and more likely to jump hosts.

How does human movement influence zoonotic disease risk?

It spreads pathogens over large distances and introduces them to new environments, accelerating transmission potential.

How does environmental destruction contribute to disease emergence?

Habitat loss forces animals into closer contact with humans and livestock, increasing spillover opportunities.

Why are emerging zoonoses often linked to livestock?

Humans live and work closely with livestock, facilitating cross-species transmission of pathogens originally from wildlife.

What is "Disease X"?

A placeholder for an unknown emerging pathogen that could cause a future pandemic — emphasising the need for proactive preparedness.

What is R value in epidemiology?

The reproduction number — the average number of secondary infections produced by one infected individual in a susceptible population.

Why is tracking R values essential?

It helps predict outbreak severity and guides PPE and medical supply planning in advance.

What are situation analyses used for?

To evaluate the state of healthcare or policy capacity and identify economic, political, and resource-based challenges to managing outbreaks.

Why is community engagement important in outbreak response?

Local education and inclusion reduce resistance to public health measures and improve uptake of interventions.

Why is zoonotic outbreak management about risk minimisation

not elimination?, Because the emergence of new pathogens is inevitable; focus must be on containment, early response, and preparedness.

What animals are asymptomatic carriers of Nipah virus?

Bats and pigs — they carry and spread the virus without showing signs of illness.

How do humans contract Nipah from date palm syrup?

Bats contaminate the collection pots by feeding from tapped trees, transmitting the virus via their saliva or urine.

Why is date palm syrup collection difficult to regulate?

It's a deeply rooted cultural practice and economically important, making it hard to restrict outright.

How quickly can Nipah kill?

Death can occur within 48 hours, making rapid detection and response critical.

What happens to pigs when Nipah is detected?

They are culled immediately to stop transmission — which has severe economic consequences for local farmers.

How is Ebola transmitted?

Through contact with infected bodily fluids; not contagious until symptoms begin.

What methods helped control Ebola outbreaks?

Early detection, isolation, PPE usage, contact tracing, and community health education.

What species is a known Ebola reservoir?

Green monkeys — they carry the virus with rare transmission events to humans.

Why is Ebola hard to identify early?

It presents with nonspecific flu-like symptoms, making early detection and containment challenging.

What is the main focus of Ebola treatment?

Supportive care — there is no widely available antiviral, so management centres on hydration and symptom control.

What virus is Mpox related to?

Smallpox — both are orthopoxviruses.

What is known about Mpox transmission?

It spreads through close contact and body fluids; can persist in semen and breast milk.

Which rodent species may act as Mpox reservoirs?

Rope squirrels and Gambian pouched rats.

What was the source of Mpox introduction to the US in one case?

Prairie dogs housed with imported Gambian pouched rats — allowing cross-species virus transmission.

Why is Mpox sometimes hard to detect?

It can circulate below detectable levels in wildlife populations and present with symptoms resembling other pox-like illnesses.

How is Mpox rash progression distinct from other diseases?

It starts at the extremities, not the trunk, and progresses synchronously through stages.

Who is most at risk of severe Mpox?

Children, immunocompromised individuals, and people born after the smallpox vaccination era (under 40-50 years old).

What are some complications of Mpox?

Secondary bacterial infections, sepsis, loss of vision, and long-term scarring.

How does smallpox vaccination offer Mpox protection?

People vaccinated before eradication in 1980 show partial protection or reduced severity in Mpox cases.

What are the two Mpox clades and which is more severe?

The Congo Basin clade (more severe) and the West African clade (less severe).