World Zoonoses Day is observed annually on July 6 to commemorate the first immunisation against a zoonotic illness.
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Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) organised a nationwide free vaccination camp against zoonotic diseases on account of World Zoonoses Day 2022.
What is Zoonoses?
Zoonotic diseases originate in animals and can spread to humans.
Infections occur through bites or contact with the infected animal’s bodily fluids.
Virus, bacteria, fungi, prions or parasites cause zoonoses.
Rabies, Ebola, certain strains of Swine flu, leptospirosis, brucellosis, anthrax, Zika and Ebola viruses, rickettsioses, plague, chikungunya, dengue and Japanese encephalitis, are the most notorious zoonotic diseases.
Origin of World Zoonoses Day
World Zoonosis Day was instituted on 6 July 1885 to educate and raise awareness about zoonotic diseases that can transmit from animals to humans.
It commemorates French biologist Louis Pasteur, who administered the first dose of the first vaccine against rabies.
India, a potential hotspot for zoonotic diseases:
A recent report from the State of the World’s Forests 2022 predicts India as a potential hotspot for zoonotic viral diseases.
Zoonotic diseases such as rabies have imperilled human health since antiquity.
Dogs are the source of most human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans, and every year it causes 18,000 to 20,000 deaths.