Some bats in this tunnel had less signs of infection from the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. Photo: Reid R. Frazier.
Penn Vet opens institute to study diseases spread from animals to humans
Is COVID-19 a zoonotic?
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Scott LaMar/WITF
Some bats in this tunnel had less signs of infection from the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. Photo: Reid R. Frazier.
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Airdate: Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Saying that 75 percent of all newly emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic – meaning passed from animals to humans – the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine has established an Institute for Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases. Is Covid-19 one of them?
Many, and probably most researchers, believe the virus came from bats and that humans may have come into contact with infected bats at a wet market in Wuhan, China.
There are other examples of zoonotic diseases – Ebola, Zika, swine flu, avian flu and West Nile virus to name a few from last twenty years.
Smart Talk examines whether covid-19 is a zoonotic and how these diseases are spreading.
Appearing on Tuesday’s Smart Talk are Christopher Hunter, PhD, Mindy Halikman Heyer Distinguished Professor of Pathobiology; director, Institute for Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases and Dr. Lisa Murphy, DVM, associate professor of Toxicology; resident director of the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System at New Bolton Center (Kennett Square, PA); co-director, Wildlife Futures Program; and associate director, Institute for Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases.
The Associated Press and WITF’s democracy reporter Jordan Wilkie are partnering to tell stories about how Pennsylvania elections work, and to debunk misinformation surrounding elections.
