Humans, Wildlife, and Our Environment: One Health is the Common Link

At the time this commentary was written (March 18, 2020), 100 countries had confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus In China, where the outbreak was first reported, 81,000 people have been infected and more than 3,100 have died Outside of China, 50,000 people have been infected with the virus, and 1,300 have perished In the United States, there were 6,000 cases reported, 90 deaths, with 53 states and territories reporting cases Since the coronavirus outbreak was first reported, media reports have traced the cause of the outbreak to horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus spp ;Figure 3) There are literally hundreds of genetically diverse bat-borne coronaviruses in the wild Most of them are harmless, except for a group responsible for the 2002-2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak Because of the global distribution of bats, their rich diversity, and the importance of bats as natural reservoirs of coronaviruses, the number of bat coronaviruses with the potential for transmission to humans will likely increase