Top scientists in London warned Thursday of the risk of future pandemics similar to COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, because of a lack of research.

Experts at the world-famous Zoological Society of London (ZSL), home of London Zoo, called in a new report for substantial investment in wildlife health research.

Scientists at ZSL's Institute of Zoology specializes in understanding so-called "zoonotic diseases", those that transfer from wildlife to humans.

They say Britain should invest in better understanding of diseases in wildlife populations, and the routes to these becoming human diseases to drastically reduce the risk of future -- possibly even worse -- global pandemics like COVID-19.

"While an effective vaccination program is vital to the short-term response to the disease, and should be prioritized, longer-term preventative research must not be ignored," said ZSL.

A spokesman for ZSL said: "Many of the biggest threats to public health including COVID-19, SARS, Ebola and Zika, began as infections that transfer from animals to humans.

"At least 61 percent of all human pathogens (agents that cause disease) are 'zoonotic', and approximately 75 percent of all new human diseases identified in recent years have come via this route."

Dominic Jermey, director general of ZSL said: "No one knows how many infections circulate in wildlife populations or under what circumstances they could create the next human pandemic.

"But if we know the risk factors for zoonotic virus spill-over, we can put in place safety measures to stop it happening in the first place without adversely affecting wild animals in which the viruses occur naturally," he said.

"These links between wildlife and human health are increasingly recognized but still very poorly understood," Jermey said.