Zoonoses are infections naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans. They are an heterogenous group of infections with a varied epidemiology. They are monitored in England and Wales, by CDSC Wales on behalf of the PHLS.

Article by Frederick A. Murphy, University of California, Davis for Emerging Infectious Diseases July-September 1998. In the past few years, emergent disease episodes have increased; nearly all have involved zoonotic or species-jumping infectious agents. Because there is no way to predict when or where the next important new zoonotic pathogen will emerge or what its ultimate importance might be, investigation at the first sign of emergence of a new zoonotic disease is particularly important.