 From rabies to Zika to COVID-19, IAEA scientists have been working on the forefront of zoonotic diseases for decades. This vital work is mainly carried out through the Joint FAO IAEA Centre for Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. Following the emergence of COVID-19, the IAEA launched the Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action Project, or Zodiac. This will work to help countries better control diseases that cross from animals to humans and respond quickly to any outbreaks. Nuclear and nuclear-derived techniques are tried and tested tools for detecting and understanding zoonotic diseases. These tools are applied and developed in joint IAEA FAO Animal Health Laboratories and shared through a large international network of veterinary research facilities. Zodiac will build further on long-standing collaborations with the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Organization for Animal Health. A nuclear-derived technique called Realtime RT-PCR has been a major tool in the world's battle against COVID-19. The technique allows for rapid and accurate detection vital to limit the spread of a virus. In partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the IAEA has been at the forefront of developing this technique, which is also a powerful tool in veterinary medicine. The agency has helped over 120 countries use this technique to detect the new coronavirus by providing the necessary equipment, guidance and training. In Belize, avian influenza has been identified in poultry, impacting international trade and threatening human health. The nuclear technologies and the nuclear-derived technologies for us gives us this extra sensitivity and specificity so that we can detect the pathogens before the outbreak of the disease. Early diagnosis enables swift action to prevent diseases spreading to humans. It allows farmers to isolate and treat infected animals quickly. In the past, we had to send samples to the United States for confirmation of a disease. Now with the help of IAEA, we are able to detect the diseases in less than 36 hours. In Sierra Leone, vets are training colleagues from across Africa to monitor potential outbreaks of Ebola in bat populations. Locals set thin nets to trap the bats at night before taking them back to the laboratory for analysis. The vets learn how to safely study the bats using nuclear-derived techniques to quickly see if they carry Ebola or other viruses. Rapid detection is vital as it allows countries to take quick action to contain outbreaks. This can stop the disease from spreading to humans and causing devastating epidemics. The IAEA, through the Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action Program, Zodiac, is providing an answer so that through nuclear applications and techniques, countries can work faster in an easier and most efficient way to detect as early as possible new pathogens that can turn into zoonosis and then into pandemics.