Diseases far more lethal than the current bug now pose a risk to humanity with animals carrying "thousands" of viruses, many of which can jump species, scientists have said. Environmental writer John Vidal revealed diseases "as contagious as measles, as deadly as Ebola" could still mutate and devastate human populations. Writing in the Daily Mail, he urges governments to acknowledge the threat of a pandemic on the scale of the Black Death, which killed up to one in three people across Europe. "If we fail to appreciate the seriousness of the situation, this present pandemic may be only a precursor to something far graver still." "Then humanity could face a far worse pandemic than Covid-19, possibly on the scale of the Black Death, which killed up to one in three people in Europe in the Middle Ages."

Source: Daily Mirror February 06, 2021 21:50 UTC