The Role of Live Bird Markets Should Be Emphasized in Preventing the Spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Infections

Zoonotic diseases refer to infectious diseases caused by pathogens that infect or parasitize both humans and other vertebrate animals. In recent years, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been known to be a zoonotic disease. Academic fields related to zoonotic diseases include veterinary medicine and virology. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), approximately 70% of new human infectious diseases identified since 1940 are of animal origin. On the other hand, approximately twice as many pathogens are transmitted from humans to animals as are transmitted from animals to humans. In other words, humans are a major source of infection for animals. Due to increased opportunities for various animals to be imported and kept as pets, pathogens that were previously rare or unknown can suddenly appear in human society. Alternatively, there are ethnic groups in the world who eat wild birds and animals that are not sufficiently cooked, and there have been cases of pathogens infecting wild birds and animals being transmitted to humans. If a zoonotic disease caused by a new pathogen like this becomes prevalent as an emerging infectious disease, there is a high risk of it becoming a pandemic because humans have not yet acquired immunity to the new pathogen. This problem was clearly evident in the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pandemic that emerged in 2003, and the COVID-19 pandemic caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2, which was identified in 2019. In this review, we discuss the importance of management practices and current information on zoonotic diseases in outlets selling live wild birds and wildlife for consumption.