Humans pass more viruses to other animals than we catch from them – study

Most infectious diseases are caused by viruses circulating in animals, and when these cross over into humans – a process known as zoonosis – they can cause disease outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics such as Ebola, flu, or covid-19.

Humans pass on more viruses to domestic and wild animals than they catch from them, a new study suggests.

University College London (UCL) researchers analysed all publicly available viral genome sequences, to see where viruses have jumped from one host to infect another vertebrate species – animals with a backbone and skeleton.