The Assessment of the Danger of Pathogens of Zoonotic Viral Infections as Potential Agents of Pandemics

The transmission of pathogens from animals to humans is the cause of the appearance of the majority of newly  emerging diseases. The purpose of this review is to assess the danger of zoonotic pathogens of dangerous and especially  dangerous viral infectious diseases as potential agents of pandemics. Materials and methods. The paper presents an  analysis of data published in domestic and English-language scientific publications, as well as posted on the Internet.  The research method is analytical. The discussion of the results. At least 70 % of all emerging diseases have a zoonotic  reservoir. The exponential growth of human activity in previously undeveloped territories determines the increasing  influence of zoonotic pathogens. The infection of people with zoonotic pathogens occurs in direct and indirect contact  with infected animals and surfaces contaminated with their secretions, transmissible transmission through arthropod  bites, food transport through the consumption of contaminated food and drinking water. Two different transmission  models have been established among zoonoses from wild animals to man. One of these models assumes, that human  infection is a random event with a low probability, in the future, the pathogen is transmitted from person to person.  In the second model, direct or vector-mediated pathogen transfer from animal to human is a link in the natural cycle  of the pathogen. The risk of transmission of the virus from the zoonotic reservoir to humans is the highest in animal  species adapted to human habitats. Conclusions. The highest level of danger as a source of zoonotic diseases represent  primates, ungulates, carnivores and especially bats, which are natural reservoirs for a number of dangerous and  especially dangerous viral diseases. Representatives of families Poxviridae, Ortomyxoviridae and Coronaviridae have  already been caused pandemics, which caused enormous damage to all spheres of human activity. These pathogens can  be considered as the most likely agents of future pandemics.