India, April 15 -- Wildlife trade increases the risk of animal-to-human pathogen transmission by 50%, new study finds

Around 41% of traded mammal species share at least one pathogen with humans, compared with 6.4% of non-traded species

Risk is higher in illegal trade and live-animal markets, where cross-species contact is more frequent

Longer time in trade increases zoonotic risk, with species sharing more pathogens over decades

Scientists warn expanding wildlife trade could raise the risk of future epidemics and pandemics

Global wildlife trade - both legal and illegal - is a major driver of pathogens passing from animals to humans, increasing the risk by around 1.5 times compared with species that are not traded, according to a stud...