“Never before have so many animals been kept by so many people ‐ and never before have so many opportunities existed for pathogens to pass through the biophysical environment and wild animals to livestock and people as zoonotic
diseases or zoonoses,” the report states.
About 60 per cent of all infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic, as are 75 per cent of all
emerging infectious diseases.
In recent years, several emerging zoonotic diseases hit world headlines as they caused, or threatened to cause, major pandemics. In addition to bird flu, these include Rift Valley fever, sudden acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), West Nile virus,
Ebola and the Zika virus.
In the last two decades, these emerging diseases have had direct costs of more than $100 billion, the report notes. If these outbreaks had become human pandemics, the losses would have
amounted to several trillion dollars.
Download full Healthy Environment, Health People report here: http://www.unep.org/about/sgb/Portals/50153/UNEA/K1602727%20INF%205.pdf
Download full 2016 Global Report on the Status of Legal Limits on Lead in Paint report here: http://www.unep.org/environmentalgovernance/Portals/8/documents/Limits-Lead-Paint-2016%20Report-Final.pdf
Download full Frontiers report here: http://web.unep.org/frontiers/
About UNEP UNEP, established in 1972, is the voice for the environment within the United Nations system. UNEP acts as a catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote the wise use and sustainable development of the global environment. UNEP work encompasses: assessing global, regional and national environmental conditions and trends, developing international and national environmental instruments and strengthening institutions for the wise
management of the environment.
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