Final answer:
A zoonosis is a disease transmitted from animals to humans, examples include rabies and yellow fever. The increase in human-animal contact in wild areas has led to new zoonotic diseases.
Step-by-step explanation:
A disease that people can catch from animals (or animals from people) is known as a zoonosis. Zoonotic diseases arise from pathogens that are transferred from vertebrate animals to humans, though they may also be transmitted by invertebrates. Well-known examples of zoonotic diseases include rabies, yellow fever, and toxoplasmosis. The spread of zoonotic diseases is a concern for epidemiologists, who study disease outbreaks and attempt to prevent future occurrences. Disturbance of ecosystems and closer human contact with wild animals have led to an increase in the emergence of new zoonotic diseases, such as the SARS coronavirus, which initially spread from bats to civets and then to humans.