# 1239
Zoonotic diseases are diseases caused by infectious agents that can be transmitted between (or are shared by) animals and humans. H5N1, commonly called bird flu, is a zoonotic disease.
Over the past three decades more than 30 new zoonotic diseases have emerged, and they appear to be showing up at a record pace. Various forms of avian influenza, Hendra, Hanta, Nipah . . . the list goes on.
I, along with tens of thousands of other Americans, deal with the effects of one of these emerging infectious disease; Lyme, each and every day. And yes, Lyme is a zoonotic disease, too.
The idea that you, or a loved one, might contract a zoonotic disease isn't as far fetched as you might think.
UN warns of possible sharp rise in bird flu outbreaks ahead of Northern Hemisphere winter
By HIROKO TABUCHI
Associated Press Writer
TOKYO (AP) -- Asia must keep watch for a sharp rise in bird flu outbreaks as winter approaches, the top U.N. influenza official said Friday, calling illnesses from animals "one of the greatest threats to the survival of the human race."
"The northern winter seems to be a time when the risk of the disease in poultry increases, and it's partly to do with the fact that this virus quite likes cold weather," said David Nabarro, the U.N. coordinator for avian flu and influenza.
Birds migrating from Asia to the south and west in winter could also carry the disease to new areas, Nabarro told The Associated Press in Tokyo.
"When you get a high concentration of diseased birds, the risk of the virus coming into the human population seems to increase," he said. "Each time a human is infected with the virus, the possibility of the mutation to cause the pandemic flu comes along - and that's what we're on the lookout for."
