It’s time to end pandemics caused by abuse of animals
To the Editor,
Fifty million Chinese locked down! Fifteen countries affected! Three confirmed cases in the US! These dramatic headlines announce one more pandemic caused by our abuse of animals.
Indeed, 61% of the 1,415 pathogens known to infect humans originate with animals. These so-called zoonetic diseases, claiming millions of human lives, include Asian flu, Hong Kong flu, West Nile flu, bird flu, swine flu, dengue fever, Ebola, HIV, SARS, and yellow fever. The pandemic “Spanish” flu of 1918 may have killed as many as 50 million people worldwide.
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