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National Geographic

Pandemic impacts~I

As long as viruses co-evolve with us, they don’t become a nuisance. This is what scientists call the ‘old friends‘ hypothesis. The virus does not infect humans directly. But when we break the integrity of natural ecosystems, we create conditions that invite pandemics. A different animal is the intermediary. It is estimated that around 60 per cent of the world’s diseases come from animals (zoonoses), 72 per cent of which come from wild animals.