ABSTRACT

The first major period of disease since the beginning of human evolution probably started approximately 10,000 years ago with the domestication of farm animals. A common theme of primary risk factors for both the emergence and spread of zoonoses was 'increasing demand for animal protein', associated with the expansion and intensification of animal agriculture. Global public health experts have identified specific 'dubious practices used in modern animal husbandry' beyond the inherent overstocking, stress and unhygienic conditions that have directly or indirectly launched deadly new diseases. Another risky industrial practice is the mass feeding of antibiotics to farm animals. The dozens of emerging zoonotic disease threats must be put into context. SARS, which emerged from the live animal meat markets of Asia, infected thousands of humans and killed hundreds. The H1N1 swine flu virus has infected millions of people and killed thousands.