US EditionStudy: Wildlife Trade Raises Human Disease Risk
Researchers found traded mammals are 1.5 times more likely to share human pathogens, and each decade in trade adds one more pathogen on average.
- The global wildlife trade increases the risk of diseases spreading from animals to humans, according to a study coauthored by a University of Maryland researcher.
- Traded wild mammals are 1.5 times more likely to share infectious agents with humans than those not involved in trade.
- An outbreak of monkeypox was linked to the trade in Gambian giant pouched rats and rope squirrels for pets.
- Reducing human contact with traded wildlife is essential for lowering future outbreak risks.
20 Articles
20 Articles
The wildlife trade increases the risk of pandemics in humans, according to an international study that warns of the key role of this activity in the transmission of viruses, bacteria and parasites between species. The research, published in Science and based on four decades of global data, concludes that marketed mammals are up to 1.5 times more likely to transmit pathogens to humans than those that do not participate in these markets. This phen…
The global exchange of fauna, especially in markets for live and illegal animals, enhances the spread of diseases.A joint study by the University of Freiburg in Germany and the University of Lausanne in Switzerland reveals that trade in wild species creates pathways for the leap from pathogens to people.Researchers published the findings in Science magazine.The accumulation of pathogens shared with humans increases as the species stays longer wi…
Wildlife trade increases pathogen transmission: What 40 years of data say about spillover
Hedgehogs, elephants, pangolins, bears or fennec foxes: many wild species are sold as pets, hunting trophies, for traditional medicine, biomedical research, or for their meat or fur. These practices, whether legal or illegal, concern one-quarter of all mammal species. Now a study conducted at the Department of Ecology and Evolution of the University of Lausanne (Unil) quantifies the impact of wildlife trade on the exchange of germs and parasites…
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