Emily Chan
Some of the deadliest diseases to have ravaged humankind were spread to us by animals. For instance, rats are notorious for being disease carriers and have long been blamed for spreading the Black Plague that killed millions of people across Europe.
In addition, many experts believe that bats carried the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, a new study shows that it’s actually more common for humans to infect animals with illnesses rather than the other way around.
In fact, humans pass on twice as many viruses to animals than animals give to us. The results of the analysis can help scientists be better prepared for future virus outbreaks.
“By surveying and monitoring transmission of viruses between animals and humans, in either direction, we can better understand viral evolution and hopefully be more prepared for future outbreaks and epidemics of novel illnesses, while also aiding in conservation efforts,” Francois Balloux, a co-author of the study, said.
In the study, researchers analyzed nearly 12 million viral genome sequences across 32 viral families, examining their evolution as they jumped to different hosts.
Not all the sequences had data on when they were collected or what host species they were from. So, the researchers narrowed the 12 million down to 60,000 fully complete sequences.
Overall, they identified almost 3,000 jumps between species, with 599 of them involving humans.
After examining the 599 host jumps, they determined that 64 percent of them were from humans to domestic or wild animals, known as anthroponosis, and 36 percent were transmitted by animals to humans, which is called zoonosis.
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