Uganda, April 20 -- Globally about 75 percent of newly emerging infectious diseases and 60 percent of all human infections are of animal origin.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one or more new infectious diseases have emerged each year since the 1970s.

This has resulted from closer proximity of animals and humans than ever before due to several factors such as: population growth, urbanisation, and advances in transport and animal industry, deforestation and climate change.

This close interaction has led to increased transmission and quick spread of diseases from animals to humans, resulting into epidemics that can potentially overwhelm health systems and devastate economies leading to morbidity and mortality of both a...