Contact with wild monkeys and apes puts humans at risk of new diseases like deadly Ebola virus

More than three fifths of emerging infectious diseases are now transmitted from animals to humans – with seven in ten of those coming from wild animals.

Animal diseases that infect humans such as Ebola, Lassa, and Marburg, are a major threat to human health, and diseases often spillover to humans from nonhuman primates.

And there needs to be better monitoring to stop the next epidemic that could become a pandemic.

The finding was made by researchers who surveyed hundreds of people living in communities in south eastern Cameroon where monkey meat is part of the staple diet.

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