ABSTRACT

The rapid growth in the movement of human beings and their goods and services around the world has provided convenient transportation for thousands of other species of plants and animals that are taking root on foreign shores. The world community is just beginning to awaken to the pervasive danger posed by the spread of non-native “exotic” species, a process dubbed bioinvasion. Wildlife trade is becoming a globally integrated industry, with air travel making it possible for popular pet species to be bred far from their native ranges, and then flown to pet stores on the other side of the world. Environmental disruption is also a potent contributor to microbial migrations. The rapid growth in international air travel is a particularly potent force for global disease dissemination, as air travel makes it possible for people to reach the other side of the world in far less time than the incubation period for many ailments.