HUNDREDS of thousands of people may be infected annually by animals carrying coronaviruses related to the one that causes Covid-19 in China and South-East Asia, according to a study emphasising the ongoing pandemic threat from spillover events.
An average of 400,000 such infections occur annually, most going unrecognised because they cause mild or no symptoms and aren’t easily transmitted between people, researchers with the EcoHealth Alliance and Singapore’s Duke-NUS Medical School said in a study released last Thursday before peer review and publication.