> Scientist have long suspected that the rate of new infectious diseases could accelerate, especially in developing countries where human and animal interaction is increasing.<p>I don't know any "Scientist" making this claim, and I work at a research University. Humans have always lived in direct contact with animals. We evolved from the Natural world living with animals in the forest, desert, and grassland. What has changed is that there are more people and we are more interconnected than ever. So in the past, if someone were exposed to a novel coronavirus, the infection wouldn't leave the village, but now it spreads across the globe in a matter of months.