Addressing the Animal Link to Pandemics

December 13, 2021

Most scientists now believe the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 emerged in a wild animal, possibly a bat, then jumped to humans, says an AP news report. In Issues, Leah R. Gerber offers a deeper look at this zoonotic, or animal-to-human, link. “Environmental degradation, and especially habitat destruction, is the underlying problem that creates conditions favorable to zoonotic jumping,” she writes. Among a number of policy suggestions, she calls for establishing a global organization with “scientific heft and enforcement teeth” to guide conserving the habitat and biodiversity that helps protect against zoonotic transmission.