New developments in organ transplants from animals show promise. However, there has been no public engagement about a potential risk. It may streamline a pathway to humans for new zoonotic diseases.
The delay in finding definitive answers to how novel infectious diseases come about is not unusual. Look at what happened to our search for Ebola virus.
Scientists have been testing captive and wild animals for the coronavirus since the pandemic began. Only a few wild species are known to carry the virus, but many more have been shown to be susceptible.
Since the WHO’s investigation earlier this year, several papers have come to the same conclusion regarding the likely origins of SARS-CoV-2. Yet progress is too slow.
Gain-of-function studies make a natural virus more dangerous or transmissible to humans. Could the Wuhan Institute of Virology be the source of SARS-CoV-2?
The lab accident theory of the origins of Covid-19 has gained traction in recent months. We need a proper investigation to find out what really happened.
A more coordinated effort by scientists, stakeholders and community members will be required to stop the next deadly virus that’s already circulating in our midst.
Pandemic viruses arise from raising, harvesting and eating animals. Policy strategy for averting the next pandemic should include supporting those already seeking to make plant-based dietary changes.
Nairobi harbours all the ingredients for zoonotic spillover to occur between animals and people, particularly in the most densely populated areas of the city.
The virus responsible for Covid-19 can infect different species and scientists are still looking for the animal that provided the link. All eyes are turning to mink farming.
A bat virus discovered a decade ago in Cambodia indicates that pangolin trafficking remains a credible explanation for the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ever since the 2001 SARS outbreak and H5N1 avian flu in 2003, we’ve developed tools to monitor diseases that transmitted from animals to humans. But what does a large-scale roll-out entail?
The ways in which humans connect with animals relate to how we interact with other humans. Understanding these relationships can help inform more inclusive societies.
Professor of Bioethics & Medicine, Sydney Health Ethics, Haematologist/BMT Physician, Royal North Shore Hospital and Director, Praxis Australia, University of Sydney