Re “WeHo City Council bans retail sale of live animals,” Sept. 18 issue

The City Council of the great city of West Hollywood did the right thing. Animal markets and other forms of animal industries pose serious risk of future zoonotic disease pandemics and current regulation does not sufficiently protect public health against these threats, concludes a new 15-country study by Harvard Law School and New York University. Often ignored is the serious public health risk involved with the exotic animal or pet trade, especially the risk of generating new zoonotic disease outbreaks.

Over 70% of emerging infectious diseases originate in wildlife. Live animal markets, where humans and various animal species in close proximity, can easily act as breeding grounds for pathogens to develop the ability to jump species, resulting in potentially lethal disease outbreaks. Examples of diseases linked to the wildlife trade or markets that jump species include SARS, MERS, COVID-19, Ebola, MPOX and various strains of avian influenza including H5N1. Many lizards, reptiles and amphibians sold as pets are a well-known source of salmonella infections including typhoidal strains that are potentially fatal if not treated in time.

Cy Husain

Los Angeles