1. CLAIM — Almost half of traded wildlife carry disease-causing pathogens, with more than 40% of traded mammal species sharing at least one pathogen with humans compared to only 6% of non-traded mammals.12

2. VERDICT — TRUE

3. EVIDENCE — The Reddit post in r/science shares a Nature news article summarizing a peer-reviewed study published in *Science* on April 9, 2026 (DOI: 10.1126/science.adw5518), which analyzed 40 years of wildlife trade data from three databases and a pathogen database. The study by Jérôme Gippet et al. found that of 2,079 traded wild mammal species, 41% share one or more pathogens with humans, versus 6.4% of non-traded mammals; traded species are 1.5 times more likely to share pathogens, with risk increasing by one additional pathogen per decade in trade.213 Multiple outlets including Washington Post, NPR, Yale School of Public Health, and Scientific American reported the same findings from the study.45

4. SOURCE CHECK — r/science is a large (over 40 million subscribers), strictly moderated subreddit for peer-reviewed science discussions; this post (posted April 12, 2026, 379 upvotes) directly links to a Nature article on a *Science* paper.1

5. CREDIBILITY — 10

6. CONFIDENCE — 10

7. BIAS — CENTER

8. CATEGORY — Health & Science