Outbreaks from animals in Africa surge by 60% in last decade

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization says that the number of outbreaks of diseases that jumped from animals to humans in Africa has increased by more than 60% in the last decade, a worrying sign the planet could face increased animal-borne diseases like monkeypox, Ebola and coronavirus in the future. The U.N. health agency said Thursday that there has been a 63% rise in the number of animal diseases breaching the species barrier from 2012 to 2022, as compared to the decade before. WHO said that diseases like Ebola and other hemorrhagic fevers were responsible for 70% of those outbreaks, in addition to illnesses like monkeypox, dengue, anthrax and plague.