HOW MAN HELPED CORONAVIRUS DISSEMINATION Scientists find link between new infectious diseases and human activity
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- 04/08/2020. u 23:56
A new study published in the journal Royal Society Proceedings B says that human destruction of, and the hunting and trading of, wildlife habitats increases the risk of outbreaks and pandemics of new diseases, BBC reports .
The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is thought to have originated from a bat and that other wild animals, perhaps pangolins, have played a role in its transmission to humans. The BBC states that there are strong indications that the virus originated from traded wild animals.
As part of the study, scientists reviewed scientific papers that referred to the transition from animal to human and compared them to data on extinction risk collected by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Wild animals threatened with extinction due to human activity have been found to carry more than twice as many viruses that can cause disease in humans than animal species that are endangered for other reasons. The same is true of animals that are endangered due to habitat loss. "As their natural habitat diminishes, wildlife come in close contact with humans," said Dr. Christine Johnson from the American University of California for the BBC.
"Wildlife is shifting locations where they move to adapt to anthropogenic activities and environmental modification. This has accelerated the emergence of wildlife diseases, increasing the risk of a pandemic as the world is globally connected through trade and travel."
Johnson says that there are few wild animals on the verge of extinction and that the risk that humans will get contagious from them is otherwise not great. "However, this is not true in situations where a person puts his activities in close contact with these animals, and the same is true in situations where wildlife is being destroyed by habitats," Johnson added.
"Hunting and trading wildlife, activities that led to the decline of individuals, endangered the survival of some species and increased the risk of infection."
Scientists have been warning for a long time about human diseases such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), MERS (Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome) and animal-derived Ebola. The coronavirus pandemic has once again brought to the fore the thesis that human health is linked to the health of the animal kingdom and planet Earth as a whole.
Johnson says that markets where wild animals are sold and where humans come in contact with these animals are almost an ideal place to infect because they come in contact between species that have no contact in the wild. Many international organizations are seeking to end wildlife trade.
"When a disease occurs, it can affect us all. We need to understand how our actions affect the environment, understand that disease is an environmental issue, and find a way to coexist in a sustainable way
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