When news broke of recent hantavirus cases, the pattern was all too familiar: questions about whether borders should close, whether travellers should worry, and whether this could be the beginning of something worse. A similar response followed the declaration of a major Ebola outbreak in Africa. As with 75 per cent of emerging infectious diseases in humans, these threats originate in animal pathogens.   Shrinking habitats and a changing climate are pushing species into closer contact with humans. We have observed this for decades. The science is not disputed. And yet the world continues to underfund animal health systems that are often the first line of defence. Global health spending on animal health systems – the workforce, surveillance networks and laboratories that help detect and contain outbreaks – amounts to just  0.6 per cent of total health spending.…