Humans pass on more viruses to domestic and wild animals than we catch from them, according to a major new analysis of viral genomes by University College London researchers.
For the new paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, the team analyzed all publicly available viral genome sequences, to reconstruct where viruses have jumped from one host to infect another vertebrate species.
Most emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are caused by viruses circulating in animals. When these viruses cross over from animals into humans, a process known as zoonosis, they can cause disease…
