Hantavirus has recently made headlines around the world due to an outbreak on the MV Hondus cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, while experts warn of four deadly diseases transmitted by animals
The strain causing the outbreak is believed to be the Andes virus, a unique strain because it can be transmitted from person to person, unlike other strains that are transmitted only from infected rodents through inhaling particles of their feces, urine, or saliva, which is how Betsy, the wife of actor Gene Hackman, died last year.
Zoonotic diseases (those transmitted from animals to humans) are responsible for about 60% of emerging infectious diseases, according to the World Health Organization.
While the world continues to monitor developments in this outbreak, which has so far claimed the lives of three passengers and infected several others, experts reveal that the world of zoonotic diseases contains more serious threats, most notably four emerging diseases that deserve to be known:
This virus is transmitted to humans through contact with infected bats or pigs, or by drinking raw palm juice contaminated with bat saliva or urine.
Its symptoms, such as fever, headache, and muscle pain, appear after 4 to 14 days, and the mortality rate ranges between 40% and 75%.
India has seen cases recently, including two nurses who were infected in 2025, but the country has managed to avoid a widespread outbreak.
It is transmitted by the Egyptian fruit bat, which is found in Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean, through its saliva, urine and feces.
Symptoms appear between 2 and 21 days after exposure and include high fever, headache, and muscle pain, along with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
The death rate ranges between 24% and 88%, and an outbreak in Ethiopia that lasted from November to January resulted in the deaths of 9 people.
monkeypox virus
It is carried by giant rats, rope squirrels, and African dormice, and can infect humans through biting, scratching, or ingestion.
Its flu-like symptoms appear within 3 to 21 days, followed by a distinctive skin rash.
Although most infected people recover within two to four weeks, the disease can be fatal for those with weakened immune systems, young children, and pregnant women.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever
It is transmitted by camel ticks (or vitreous ticks) endemic to Asia, Europe and North Africa, or through contact with the blood or tissues of infected livestock.
It begins suddenly with a high fever, headache, joint, muscle and abdominal pain and vomiting, and may develop into severe bleeding and kidney failure in severe cases.
The mortality rate ranges between 30% and 50%, and the disease is endemic in Uganda, which recorded a case this year of a young nurse.
