ScienceToday

Even though certain viruses and bacteria are only deadly to certain species, they can evolve quickly and travel from one species to another. And SARS-CoV-2 is a great example to support this theory, even though there are a lot of other viruses that emerged from animals to humans and vice versa.

Just like it happened with the coronavirus, infections can easily occur on markets and farms, since there are a lot of pathogens living together in harsh conditions, giving them the chance to swap genes and infect and even kill previously unknown hosts.

What’s very disturbing is that viruses can travel from a lot of seemingly harmless activities, such as allowing a performance monkey on some Indonesian streets to climb on your head. As you can see, the virus can travel very easily from certain species to others, from animals to humans.

Bacteria can even gather in your gut, then it uses it as its own space until it evolves and transforms you into a contagious host. You’ll infect other people and that’s how pandemics appear. While this might sound silly explained like this, it’s actually how it happens.

Diseases passed from animals to humans are known as zoonoses, and there are dozens of such diseases that can be easily contracted by a simple touch. Additionally, there are also those diseases that can be caught from bites.

Additionally, it’s important to note that disease-carrying parasites are not picky at all when it comes to choosing a host. Human diseases can also swap to animal populations as well, including from activities such as ecotourism.

Read on to discover the 11 deadly diseases that can travel between species!

Make sure to also check: 11 of the Most Deadly Diseases in History.