New Delhi, May 30, 2025.
Over eight per cent of outbreaks reported under India’s infectious disease surveillance system between 2018 and 2023 were zoonotic — spread from animals to humans, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an analysis.
Zoonotic outbreaks consistently peaked during June, July, and August, researchers from the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai said.
Typically, about seven zoonotic outbreaks — also sometimes called ‘spillover events’ — occurred in a month, and such instances significantly increased over the years, specifically, post-pandemic, the study published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia journal found.
