Zoonanthroponosis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A disease that spreads in both directions between animals and people, transmitted from one species to the other and sometimes back again
2. An infection that moves between humans and other animals, passing from beasts to people and occasionally from people to beasts
3. The transmission of a pathogen across the boundary between animal and human hosts, with infections travelling in either direction

Etymology: Zoonanthroponosis is a compound of two medical terms, each built from Greek. "Zoonosis" combines Greek "zōion," meaning "animal," with "nosos," meaning "disease," and names an infection that passes from animals to people. "Anthroponosis" pairs Greek "anthrōpos," meaning "human," with the same "nosos" and names the reverse, an infection that passes from people to animals. Joining the two gives a single word for a disease that can travel in both directions. The combined term is useful because some pathogens do exactly that. An infection can jump from a pet or livestock to a person and later pass back, so one label covers the whole cycle. The word is a modern technical formation, assembled from classical parts, rather than an ancient Greek term.