Ethiopia, Sept. 29 -- World leaders should halt all commercial trade - legal and illegal - of wild birds and mammals for human consumption to prevent future pandemics, a wildlife expert says in a new scientific paper.

Hundreds of outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases have been reported in recent decades, and the rate at which they break out is increasing as human activities and encroachment "undermine the integrity of naturally balanced ecosystems", according to Christian Walzer.

And he warns that future outbreaks of zoonotic disease are inevitable "as the interfaces between wildlife and humans increase, primarily due to deforestation and agricultural expansion".

Between 1940 and 2004, more than 335 new infectious diseases were rec...