The book begins with a review of zoonotic pandemics of the past: the  Black Death  or bubonic plague of the Middle Ages, the Spanish Influenza pandemic (derived from avian influenza) of the early 20th century, to the more modern pandemic of AIDS/HIV infection, which originated in Africa from primates. However, the majority of chapters focus on more recent zoonoses, which have been recognized since the late 20th century to the present: <div><br/><div><br/><div>  SARS and MERS coronaviruses</div><div>  New avian influenza viruses </div><div>  The tick-borne Henan fever virus from China</div><div>  The tick-borne Heartland virus from the United States </div><div>  Recently recognized bacterial pathogens, such as Streptococcus suis from pigs.