The question that arises in many folks' minds is why viruses? Why now? By way of explanation I offer this, from the foreword to the special issue of Veterinary Research, titled: "Emerging and re-emerging animal viruses" :

> Emergences of viral diseases targeting animal and/or human populations have become more frequent during the last decades. Both concern previously unknown viruses that have suddenly emerged and known viruses that have expanded geographically. The reasons for this increased frequency in occurrence are multifactorial. They combine (i) technical progress such as increased surveillance and improvement of tools for identification; (ii) human factors such as globalization, deforestation, urbanization, rural and exotic tourism, increase of exchanges between humans, animals and goods; and (iii) ecological factors such as climate change whose role remains difficult to assess and which is also impacted by human behavior. 

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