Spillover animal infections5/24/2023 The term spillover evokes images of a container of liquid overflowing, and this image is a great metaphor for how the process works. The pathogen can be something never before seen in people, such as a new Ebola virus carried by bats, or it could be something well known and recurring, like Salmonella from farm animals. Spillover involves any type of disease-causing pathogen, be it a virus, parasite or bacteria, jumping into humans. Treana Mayer/BioRender, CC BY-ND How spillover works Viral spillover occurs when a virus spills out from an animal population into people. Given that the next potential pandemic will likely originate from animals, it’s important to understand how and why spillover occurs – and what can be done to stop it. As this year’s outbreak of bird flu grows, people are understandably worried about spillover. I was on the Colorado State University veterinary diagnostic team that helped detect some of the earliest cases of H5N1 avian influenza in U.S. I’m a veterinarian and a researcher who studies how diseases spread between animals and people. Following on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, large outbreaks of viruses like bird flu raise the specter of another disease jumping from animals into humans. The current epidemic of avian influenza has killed over 58 million birds in the U.S. Klebher Vasquez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Wild birds like pelicans and ducks are getting infected with – and dying from – a new strain of avian influenza and have spread it to farm animals around the world.
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