Covid-19 will be just ‘one of many’ new infectious diseases spilling over from animals to humans

Three-quarters of emerging illnesses come from animals and a new report identifies climate change as a primary driver of many of them. As the new coronavirus continues to turn the world upside down, crashing economies and overextending health care systems, epidemiologists and infectious disease experts are increasingly focusing on how to prevent the next pandemic, rather than solely reacting to the current one. Covid-19 has already taught many lessons about response and resilience to disease, but perhaps chief among them is that if we do not significantly alter our relationship with the natural world, the next pandemic could be not just around the corner, it could be worse. A report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) last month makes the case for focusing on the causes of pandemics instead of treating the diseases as they emerge, an argument echoed by many in the field,...