What is the Difference Between Anthroponoses Sapronoses and Zoonoses

The key difference between anthroponoses sapronoses and zoonoses is that anthroponoses are diseases transmissible from human to human, and sapronoses are diseases transmissible from the non-living environment or abiotic environment to humans. Meanwhile, zoonoses are diseases transmissible from an animal to a human.

Communicable diseases are diseases that spread from one person to another or from an animal to a human. They are mainly caused by infectious agents such as airborne viruses and bacteria. Parasites and fungal agents also cause infectious diseases. These diseases pose a significant impact on human health and the economy. Influenza, tuberculosis, measles, meningitis, mumps, hepatitis A, B and C are some examples of human communicable diseases. These diseases mainly spread through the contaminated air, contact with contaminated objects, skin contact, insect bites and blood products. Based on the source of infection or reservoir of infectious agents, there are three main categories of human communicable diseases as anthroponoses, sapronoses, and zoonoses.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Anthroponoses 
3. What are Sapronoses  
4. What are Zoonoses
5. Similarities – Anthroponoses Sapronoses and Zoonoses
6. Anthroponoses vs Sapronoses vs Zoonoses in Tabular Form
7. Summary – Anthroponoses vs Sapronoses vs Zoonoses

What are Anthroponoses?

Anthroponoses are a type of human communicable disease that is transmitted from an infectious human to another human. Therefore, these diseases spread between people. Rubella, smallpox, diphtheria, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis, typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, shigellosis, whooping cough, syphilis, yaws, tuberculosis, leprosy, mycoplasmal pneumonia, common cold, poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, herpes simplex, chickenpox, AIDS, candidosis, cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis and amoebiasis are major anthroponoses.

What are Sapronoses?

Sapronoses are diseases transmissible from an abiotic substrate in the environment to humans. In Greek, sapron means decaying organic substrate. Therefore, infectious agents replicate actively in the non-living environment and transmit to humans. Non-living environments include soil, water, decaying plants/animals, excreta, etc.

Moreover, these infectious agents are capable of reproducing in humans. They spend a dual life becoming saprophytic and parasitic (pathogenic). Human mycoses, some bacterial and protozoan diseases are sapronoses. Viruses do not cause sapronoses since they are obligate intracellular parasites.

What are Zoonoses?

Zoonoses are a type of human communicable disease transmitted from an infectious animal (vertebrate animal) to susceptible humans. Therefore, these diseases spread between animals and humans. They are not transmissible by the contact from the patient to other humans. Earlier, these diseases were termed anthropozoonoses. The diseases that transmit from humans to animals were termed zooanthroponoses. However, both terms are no longer in use.

A significant number of zoonotic diseases transmit from arthropod agents to humans. Moreover, some diseases are spread by direct contact. Furthermore, there are foodborne, waterborne, aerogenic and rodent-borne zoonoses. Urban rabies, cat scratch disease, zoonotic ringworm, arboviroses, wildlife rabies, Lyme disease, tularemia, yellow fever and Chagas disease are several examples of zoonoses. There is a rise in zoonoses in the world. Certain zoonoses show high lethality.

What are the Similarities Between Anthroponoses Sapronoses and Zoonoses?

• Anthroponoses, sapronoses, and zoonoses are three types of human communicable diseases based on the source of infection.
• They pose a significant threat to human health.

What is the Difference Between Anthroponoses Sapronoses and Zoonoses?

The source of infection of anthroponoses is an infectious human, while the source of infection of sapronoses is the abiotic substrate in the non-living environment.  On the other hand, the source of infection of zoonoses is an animal. So, this is the key difference between anthroponoses sapronoses, and zoonoses. Moreover, sapronoses and zoonoses do not transmit between humans, while anthroponoses transmit between humans.

The below infographic lists the differences between anthroponoses sapronoses and zoonoses in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Anthroponoses vs Sapronoses vs Zoonoses

The reservoir of an infectious agent is the place where an infectious agent naturally thrives and replicate. Based on that, there are three types of infectious diseases as anthroponoses, sapronoses and zoonoses. Anthroponoses are diseases transmissible from human to human. Sapronoses are diseases transmissible from the non-living environment or abiotic environment to humans. Zoonoses are diseases transmissible from an animal to a human. Thus, this is the key difference between anthroponoses sapronoses and zoonoses.

Reference:

1. “Emerging Human Infectious Diseases: Anthroponoses, Zoonoses, and Sapronoses – Volume 9, Number 3-March 2003 – Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal – CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
2. Hubálek, Zdenek, and Ivo Rudolf. “Types of Human Disease by Source of the Infectious Agent.” Microbial Zoonoses and Sapronoses, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 10 Nov. 2010.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Chicken Pox (Varicella Zoster)” By BruceBlaus – (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Pulmonary aspergillosis (2) invasive type” By User:KGH – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
3. “Examples of Zoonotic Diseases and Their Affected Populations (6323431516)” By U.S. Government Accountability Office from Washington, DC, United States -(Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia