A disease which is common to man and lower animals is known as a zoo)iosis. Zoonoses were redefined in 1958 by the Joint WHO FAO Expert Committee on Zoonoses as "those diseases and infections which are naturally transmitted between vertebrate animals and man" (World Health Organization, 1959). Less than 20 years ago it was said that there were 50 zoonoses, but in the above report the World Health Organization listed more in connection with vector-borne diseases, altho it need not be restricted to them. epidemiology, taxonomy, evolution, etc.(see ). A dei)ie is a natural population within a species. It lies more or less below the subspecies level, but it is not a formal taxon and is not given a Latin name. There are different types of deme. Nosodemes differ in their clinical manifestations. One example is Leishmania donovani, which has five nosodemes, Indian, Mediterranean, Sudanese, Chinese and South American, which produce different types of disease. Serodemes differ serologically. These are best known among the bacteria and viruses, but also occur among the animal parasites. Tritrichonionas foetus, for example, has several serological types or serodemes. were markedly resistant to infection with Ostertagia circunicincta. while Rambouillets were less so and Southdowns, Shropshires and Hampshires were least resistant.Certain individuals among the more susceptible breeds, however, were just as resistant as the Romneys. Whitlock(1958) has studied genetic resistance to trichostrongylidosis in sheep in some detail.The nutritional status of the host may affect its resistance. Poorly nourished animals are usually more susceptible to infection and suffer more severely from its effects.Protein depletion or protein starvation is particularly important. Lack of specific vitamins and minerals generally decreases resistance, but there are cases in which lack of a certain vitamin which the parasite requires may affect the parasite adversely. Thus, Becker and Smith (1942) found that when calcium pantothenate was added to a ration containing restricted vitamins B,, Bg and pantothenate, the number of oocysts produced hy Einteria nieschulzi infections in the rat was increased.