Peter Alagona, University of California, Santa Barbara
The value that bats provide to humans by pollinating crops and eating insects is far greater than harm from virus transmission – which is mainly caused by human actions.
Places where lots of animals come into contact can help pathogens move from species to species.
Baloncici/iStock via Getty Images Plus
In the real world, new diseases emerge from complex environments. To learn more about how, scientists set up whole artificial ecosystems in the lab, instead of focusing on just one factor at a time.
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of filamentous Ebola virus particles (blue) budding from an infected cell (yellow-green).
NIAID
The Trump administration has cut funding for infectious disease research and reduced high-level staffing for global health security, leaving the nation less prepared for major outbreaks.
Cambodian high-school students line up to sanitize their hands to avoid coronavirus in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
AP Photo/Heng Sinith
Arne Ruckert, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Hélène Carabin, Université de Montréal, and Ronald Labonte, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
China’s coronavirus outbreak is stoking fears that it could become the next great global pandemic. As the World Health Organization declares a global emergency, it’s also fanning a pandemic of fear.
Woman walks past the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.
STR/EPA
A new coronavirus related to SARS and MERS has now traveled from China to the United States. A genetic analysis reveals that this deadly pathogen may have originated in snakes.
When a game of fetch can harm: leptospirosis can be transmitted to dogs (and humans) from stagnant water contaminated with rat urine.
from www.shutterstock.com
Rift Valley Fever infects millions of humans and livestock in Africa and Arabia. To fight it, scientists are developing a first of its kind vaccine that can be used on humans and animals.
Humans can easily transmit viruses to chimpanzees and other primates.
Robin Nieuwenkamp/Shutterstock
Armadillos and humans are linked in the strangest of ways. Armadillos are the only other species known to get leprosy. A surge in cases in Brazil gives reason for concern there and in the US.
People and animals live side by side – and can have pathogens in common.
Nichola Hill
No one then knew a virus caused the 1918 flu pandemic, much less that animals can be a reservoir for human illnesses. Now virus ecology research and surveillance are key for public health efforts.
Tackling local diseases like rabies could help health authorities identify new outbreaks more easily.
N. Bastiaensen/World Organisation for Animal Health
By tackling local threats and controlling existing diseases, countries are able to build the capacity needed to deal with future emerging disease threats.
The Monkeypox virus was isolated most recently in 2012 from a dead infant mangabey (species of monkey) in Ivory Coast.
Shutterstock
A disease suspected to be monkeypox is on the rampage in Nigeria. In less than one month, it has spread to seven of the country’s 36 states and infected 31 people.