Which term describes disease transmission between animals and humans?

• A. Zoonotic disease
• B. Vector-borne disease
• C. Endemic disease
• D. Avian disease

Answer: (A)

Cross-species transmission of pathogens is the idea behind this concept. A zoonotic disease is one that can move between animals and humans, arising from direct contact, contaminated food or water, or environmental exposure. This term captures the situation where the same pathogen can infect both animals and people. Examples include rabies from mammals to humans and certain strains of influenza that move between birds and people. The other terms describe different ideas: vector-borne means transmission through another organism like a mosquito or tick, endem ic refers to a disease being consistently present in a population or area, and avian disease specifically refers to diseases that affect birds, not the general animal-to-human transmission.