Links between ecological integrity, emerging infectious diseases originating from wildlife, and other aspects of human health - an overciew of the literature

Abstract

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic there is heightened public interest in the risk factors that lead to such events. The commercial wildlife tradeand associated commercial wildlife markets for human consumption have been widely recognized as a major risk factor, and arethe subject of a WCS policy brief focused specifically on that topic1. The currentreport looks at the broader issues of ecosystem integrity and ecosystem degradation. The degradation of ecosystems is often linked to the commercial wildlife trade but also results in various other processes that affect zoonotic disease transmission.