A top scientist has chillingly warned there are nearly 2 million unknown viruses lurking in animals that could spread to and infect humans.
Dr Peter Daszak, president of the EcoHealth Alliance, made the revelation as the world is gripped by the coronavirus pandemic.
He believes scientists should make every effort to understand the genetic code of viruses living in animals – in order to prevent deadly future outbreaks.
He told Sky News: “We analysed the number of unknown viruses that could emerge in future and we estimate there are about 1.7 million of them, of the type that could infect people. "It's a really significant future threat. "We only know of a couple of thousand viruses so the vast majority are waiting to emerge in future." Dis