Published November 30, 2012
Zoonoses - pathogenic organisms such as bacteria or viruses which we share with animals - cause more than 60% of human infectious diseases, and have been responsible for some of the most devastating disease outbreaks in recent years, including HIV, Ebola, and SARS. However, despite their huge, and rising, impact on human health, there are still huge gaps in our understanding of how zoonoses spread and develop, which need to be urgently addressed if we are to be able to reduce the impact of the next zoonotic pandemic. In a new Lancet Series, leading experts discuss the ecology, drivers and dynamics of zoonoses, while also addressing how we might predict the next zoonotic pandemic, and reduce the potentially catastrophic human and economic cost of such an outbreak.
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