Exclusive: Inside the thriving wild-animal markets that could start the next pandemic
Briefly

The Jatinegara market in Jakarta is a hub for the wildlife trade, involving a variety of animals sold for pet and food purposes. Experts warn this market, and others like it, significantly increase the risk of zoonotic diseases transferring to humans, especially in populous locations. Despite bans on wildlife trading in some regions, illegal practices persist, reflecting a return to pre-pandemic business. The trade creates conditions for emerging pathogens, posing grave public health concerns, highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic's possible connections to wildlife markets.
"For decades, public-health experts have warned about the risks of infectious diseases jumping from animals to humans in markets such as Jatinegara, which are part of a global industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually."
"The wildlife trade acts as a vast global network of unregulated natural laboratories, through which potential pathogens freely circulate, evolve and ultimately congregate in urban centres."
Read at Nature
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