Since the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrom Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) it has become increasingly clear that bats are important reservoirs of CoVs. Despite this, only 6% of all CoV sequences in GenBank are from bats. The remaining 94% largely consist of known pathogens of public health or agricultural significance, indicating that current research effort is heavily biased towards describing known diseases rather than the ‘pre-emergent’ diversity in bats. Our study addresses this critical gap, and focuses on resource poor countries where the risk of zoonotic emergence is believed to be highest. We surveyed the diversity of CoVs in multiple host taxa from twenty countries to explore the factors driving viral diversity at a global scale. We identified sequences representing 100 discrete phylogenetic clusters, ninety-one of which were found in bats, and used ecological and epidemiologic analyses to show that patterns of CoV diversity correlate with those of bat diversity. This cements bats as the major evolutionary reservoirs and ecological drivers of CoV diversity. Co-phylogenetic reconciliation analysis was also used to show that host switching has contributed to CoV evolution, and a preliminary analysis suggests that regional variation exists in the dynamics of this process. Overall our study represents a model for exploring global viral diversity and advances our fundamental understanding of CoV biodiversity and the potential risk factors associated with zoonotic emergence.

The global trade in wildlife provides disease transmission mechanisms that not only cause human disease outbreaks but also threaten livestock, international trade, rural livelihoods, native wildlife populations, and the health of ecosystems. Outbreaks resulting from wildlife trade have caused hundreds of billions of dollars of economic damage globally. Rather than attempting to eradicate pathogens or the wild species that may harbor them, a practical approach would include decreasing the contact rate among species, including humans, at the interface created by the wildlife trade. Since wildlife marketing functions as a system of scale-free networks with major hubs, these points provide control opportunities to maximize the effects of regulatory efforts.

The global trade in wildlife provides disease transmission mechanisms that not only cause human disease outbreaks but also threaten livestock, international trade, rural livelihoods, native wildlife populations, and the health of ecosystems. Outbreaks resulting from wildlife trade have caused hundreds of billions of dollars of economic damage globally. Rather than attempting to eradicate pathogens or the wild species that may harbor them, a practical approach would include decreasing the contact rate among species, including humans, at the interface created by the wildlife trade. Since wildlife marketing functions as a system of scale-free networks with major hubs, these points provide control opportunities to maximize the effects of regulatory efforts.

Infectious and noninfectious diseases are being recognized by conservation biologists as an increasing challenge to the conservation of wildlife. The amplified role of diseases as a factor limiting species' survival can be traced to anthropogenic changes on a global scale that have direct and indirect influences on the health of wildlife species. These changes include human population growth, habitat fragmentation and degradation, the isolation of populations of species, and an increased proximity of humans (and their domestic animals) to wildlife. Further, some conservation projects have caused more harm than good by unwittingly introducing diseases to wildlife populations, whereas others have failed to meet their objectives because they did not take disease factors into consideration. Conservation biologists need to move quickly past the decades-old debate on the relative importance of wildlife health to conservation and begin using all the tools available to ensure the effectiveness of their efforts. We briefly review the literature on wildlife diseases, place wildlife health in the context of global changes affecting wild animal populations, and offer concrete suggestions for ways to integrate wildlife health sciences into conservation, such as including health assessment or monitoring programs and research on interspecies disease transmission in field biology projects, training wildlife professionals in the design and implementation of wildlife studies that incorporate health components, and encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration. Our goal is to raise awareness that conservation biologists working in disciplines ranging from field biology to policy making have an important role to play in facilitating a transition toward a new conservation paradigm that includes wildlife health. This paradigm shift will take an academic understanding of the importance of wildlife disease and turn it into practical actions that will help conserve wildlife more effectively.De la Teoría a la Práctica: la Salud de la Vida Silvestre en la Conservación Resumen: Los biólogos de la conservación reconocen que las enfermedades infecciosas y no infecciosas son un reto cada vez mayor para la conservación de vida silvestre. El papel de las enfermedades como un factor limitante de la sobrevivencia de especies se puede deber a cambios antropogénicos a escala global que tienen influencia directa e indirecta en la salud de especies de vida silvestre. Estos cambios incluyen el crecimiento de la población, la fragmentación y degradación del hábitat, el aislamiento de poblaciones y una mayor proximidad de humanos (y sus animales domésticos) a la vida silvestre. Adicionalmente, algunos proyectos de conservación han causado más daños que beneficios al introducir, inconscientemente, enfermedades en las poblaciones de vida silvestre, mientras que otros han fallado en alcanzar sus objetivos porque no tomaron en consideración a factores de enfermedades. Como biólogos de la conservación, necesitamos rápidamente superar el debate que se ha dado po...

Recurring outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging zoonoses, such as Ebola virus disease, avian influenza, and Nipah virus, serve as a reminder that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are interconnected and that early response to emerging zoonotic pathogens requires a coordinated, interdisciplinary, crosssectoral approach. As our world becomes increasingly connected, emerging diseases pose a greater threat, requiring coordination at local, regional, and global levels. One Health is a multisectoral, transdisciplinary, and collaborative approach promoted to more effectively address these complex health threats. Despite strong advocacy for One Health, challenges for practical implementation remain. Here we discuss the value of the One Health approach for addressing global health challenges. We also share strategies applied to achieve successful outcomes through the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats Program PREDICT project, which serve as useful case studies for implementing One Health approaches. Lastly, we explore methods for promoting more formal One Health implementation to capitalize on the added value of shared knowledge and leveraged resources.