Introduction:
Viral zoonoses develop only in living organisms, are characterized by a great variability that stems from an adaptation to their hosts and can be a serious problem with respect to medical pathology. This group also embraces prion disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), whose etiological factor is modified prion protein (infectious protein particle) deposited in the nerve cells.

Aim:
This work was aimed at presenting basic data concerning zoonoses occurring in Poland, including their etiology and epidemiology, along with the methods applied to break the epidemiological chain.

Material and methods:
The material used in this work consisted of available medical literature, including the latest reports concerning this subject.

Results and discussion:
Zoonotic infections are caused by infected, asymptomatic or cured animals. Infections may be transmitted via animal products or slaughter products (animal-derived foods), as well as various elements of that environment contaminated by excrement from sick animals. From an epidemiological perspective, diseases such as anthrax or tick-borne encephalitis which have been prevalent for a long time are still significant. Diseases which have appeared more recently, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), avian influenza (H5N1) and swine influenza (H1N1), have also been discussed. Medical procedures in the event of recognizing such a disease are presented, including the official rules of veterinary actions with respect to infected animals and the food derived from such animals.

Conclusions:
1. Viral zoonoses can be a serious threat to human health due to the significant pace of pathogen proliferation. Despite medical advances, these diseases remain a serious problem for both medical and veterinarian services. 2. Due to globalization, ‘‘new zoonoses’’ constitute a worldwide rather than a local problem. This is clearly testified to by the European Union (EU) Zoonoses Directive issued in 1994 by the Council of the European Union. 3. The application of vaccines does not prevent the development of all zoonoses. Knowledge concerning the transmission modes of these diseases is especially important, as is the cooperation of epidemiologists and specialists in epizootology.