Illegal “Donkey Skin Trade” Could Be The Source of New Zoonotic Infectious Disease

The illegal donkey skin trade operating out of parts of Africa and shipped to China for traditional medicine purposes could be the source of the spread of new zoonotic infectious diseases due to the scale of the trade, lack of regulation, and unhygienic slaughtering methods. Researchers tested 108 donkey skin samples from Kenya and found  88 of them were carrying Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, the leading cause of skin infections such as abscesses and boils as well as other infectious disease strains. 

To read the full article from The Telegraph by Will Brown, click here