Researchers from around the world are increasing efforts to find animal populations that could start future human pandemics. The aim is to identify zoonotic diseases -- those that can spread from animals to humans. Coronaviruses, for example, can infect both animals and humans. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) says coronaviruses, like the new one affecting much of the world, “are common in people and many different species.” But, the CDC notes, “animal coronaviruses rarely infect people and then spread between people.” There have, however, been major disease outbreaks caused by coronaviruses in humans. Bats have been linked to some of them. Many scientists believe bats were the first carriers of the new coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19.