8 per cent infectious disease outbreaks during 2018-2023 spread from animals to humans, study says
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.
