Modern farming practices, such as intensified livestock production, as well as environmental and biodiversity changes can be linked to the new wave of zoonotic diseases, according to a new study published in the 21 May 2013 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Human population growth and the expansion of agriculture to meet the ever-rising demand for food have been identified as the key drivers of recent outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases.

These human behavioural changes have led to encroachment of wildlife habitats, resulting in greater interactions between people, livestock and wildlife and increased chances of spillover of potential pathogens from wildlife to livestock and, consequently, people.

“Intensive livestock farming, especially of pigs and poultry, increases the risk of disease transmission due to increased population size and density,” the study reveals.

Environmental changes arising from settlement and agriculture, including land fragmentation, deforestation and…