--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ebola is a zoonosis. So is bubonic…" description: "\"“Ebola is a zoonosis. So is bubonic plague. So was the so-called Spanish influenza of 1918–1919, which had its ultimate source in a wild aquatic bird a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/david-quammen-9256_bubonic-plague_ebola-is-a-zoonosis-so-is-bubonic-plague_1151026.jpg" --- # Ebola is a zoonosis. So is bubonic plague. So was the… ![“Ebola is a zoonosis. So is bubonic plague. So was the so-called Spanish influenza of 1918–1919, which had its ultimate source in a wild aquatic bird and, after passing through some combination of domesticated animals (a duck in southern China, a sow in Iowa?) emerged to kill as many as 50 million…” quote by David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/david-quammen-9256_bubonic-plague_ebola-is-a-zoonosis-so-is-bubonic-plague_1151026.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/david-quammen-9256_bubonic-plague_ebola-is-a-zoonosis-so-is-bubonic-plague_1151026.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/david-quammen-9256_bubonic-plague_ebola-is-a-zoonosis-so-is-bubonic-plague_1151026.jpg) > ““Ebola is a zoonosis. So is bubonic plague. So was the so-called Spanish influenza of 1918–1919, which had its ultimate source in a wild aquatic bird and, after passing through some combination of domesticated animals (a duck in southern China, a sow in Iowa?) emerged to kill as many as 50 million people before receding into obscurity.”” [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Zoonotic diseases often jump from animals to humans, causing massive outbreaks, as illustrated by historical pandemics. **In simple terms:** Animal diseases can become human crises. Key Takeaway Watch animal health to prevent human disease. Themes health pandemics history Mood concerned urgent Type scientific educational When to use this quote - wildlife monitoring - public health policy - vaccine development Key Concepts zoonosis epidemiology species spillover Questions to Reflect On - What measures can reduce zoonotic spillover? - How can we improve early detection? A Different Perspective Complex transmission chains can be hard to trace. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bubonic plague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bubonic-plague/) ## Related quotes > [“When a pathogen leaps from some nonhuman animal into a person, and succeeds there in establishing itself as an infectious presence, sometimes causing illness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/when-a-pathogen-leaps-from-some-nonhuman-animal-into-a-person-and/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [“They burned this neighbourhood down in the early 1900s to prevent the spread of bubonic plague, and it occurs to me that they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-beukes/they-burned-this-neighbourhood-down-in-the-early-1900s-to-prevent-the/) [Lauren Beukes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-beukes/) > [“Bubonic plague killed a third of the people in Europe, but it destroyed the old governments and allowed their citizens to gain freedom. 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Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-h-dalton/) > [“It took Feyra some time to realise that she was not delirious: the citizens were wearing painted masks.From childhood she had heard the legend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-fiorato/it-took-feyra-some-time-to-realise-that-she-was-not-delirious-the/) [Marina Fiorato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-fiorato/) > [“If you were a peasant and someone said, “If you live in a sewer, the bubonic plague won’t kill you,” your reaction likely wouldn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-wright/if-you-were-a-peasant-and-someone-said-if-you-live-in-a-sewer-the/) [Jennifer Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-wright/) > [Among women, guilt spreads with the rampant fury of bubonic plague. ... 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