Diseases Spread From Animals to People

Name: _________________________________       Date: _____________

For as long as humans have lived on the planet, they've been at-risk of catching diseases that start in an animal population. These diseases are called zoonoses. Throughout history, diseases such as rabies and bubonic plague have taken a huge toll on people. In the last century, the Spanish flu epidemic that spread around the world in 1918 and 1919 killed more than 40 million people. The virus that caused this flu crossed over to people from birds.

These days, health officals worry that the bird flu virus, which has already killed hundreds of millions of birds worldwide, will mutate and become a huge threat to people. Other disease agents that infect animals, such as the West Nile and Ebola viruses, are also a danger to people. In this Planet Diary activity, you'll learn more about some of these diseases that can spread from animals to people.

Complete the table below by clicking on each of the links to information about some zoonoses from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Disease Agent	From Which Animals?	How it Spreads to People
Bird (Avian) Flu
Ebola
Hantaviruses
West Nile Virus
Rabies
Anthrax