Zoonosis

[Origin: 1875–80; from Greek zōio meaning animal and nósos meaning sickness]

In the study of pathology, zoonosis refers to any disease of animals that is communicable to humans.

The word zoonosis is unfamiliar to most people. But it helps clarify the biological reality behind the scary headlines about bird flu, SARS, other forms of nasty new disease, and the threat of a coming pandemic. It says something essential about the origin of HIV. It's a word of the future, destined for heavy use in the 21st century. |Link|