Amy Y. Vittor – The Conversation

Pangolins have been found with covonaviruses that are genetically similar to the one afflicting humans today. Jekesai Njikizana/AFP/Getty Images

June 25, 2020

How deforestation helps deadly viruses jump from animals to humans

Amy Y. Vittor, University of Florida; Gabriel Zorello Laporta, Centro Universitário Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, and Maria Anice Mureb Sallum, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)

Yellow fever, malaria and Ebola all spilled over from animals to humans at the edges of tropical forests. The new coronavirus is the latest zoonosis.

Municipal workers wait before spraying insecticide to prevent the spread of Aedes aegypti mosquito at Sambodrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, January 26, 2016. Pilar Olivares/Reuters

January 27, 2016

Explainer: where did Zika virus come from and why is it a problem in Brazil?

Amy Y. Vittor, University of Florida

Zika was discovered almost 70 years ago, but wasn’t associated with outbreaks until 2007. So how did this formerly obscure virus wind up causing so much trouble in Brazil?

Contact Amy for