What does the term 'spillover' mean? How do zoonoses apply to our everyday life? What can we do to reduce the chances of new pandemics happening? Join the host Federico De Angelis to find out.

Takeaways:

• A zoonosis (or zoonotic event) takes place when a pathogen that is adapted at infecting one species (e.g. humans), manages to 'jump' and infect a different one.
• Between 60 and 75% of all human pathogens come from our exposure to animals.
• There are human factors which can increase the chances of zoonosis happening - climate change, deforestation, 'bushmeat' trade.
• It is well within our power to adopt behaviors that decrease the probability of a new pandemic to happen.

David Quammen book 'Spillover' - https://davidquammen.com/spillover

Estimates on human pathogens emergence - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/3367654

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2001.0888

Follow The Viral Talk on Twitter - https://twitter.com/The_Viral_Talk

And Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/the_viral_talk_/

Leave a review on the episode on Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-viral-talk-5094049

Coming soon - Join the host Federico De Angelis in discovering the basic biological principles of coronaviruses, their host type, how many they are and the type of infection they cause.