Understanding Ebola, SARS, Avian Flu and Bubonic Plague - David Quammen

Throughout history, diseases have consistently jumped from animals to man. David Quammen details the history of zoonotic diseases in his new book, Spillover. He tells Boyd that as humans continue to encroach on habitats formerly left to animals, diseases that jump from animals to humans will happen more often. Quammen says this could spark the next human pandemic. HIV and the Bubonic plague are two diseases that began in animals, but Quammen said that scientists consider humans lucky that various avian flu strains and SARS have proven to be containable this far.