How human behavior will lead to the next pandemic

A study in the Asian-Australasian region revealed that those wild mammals that predominantly harbor emerging pathogens are 15 times more likely to use a human modified environment compared to other wild mammals in the same region.2 A typical case of this human–animal interface is bushmeat hunting fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology 2022-12, Vol.43 (12), p.1999-2000
Main Authors: Mazonakis, Nikolaos, Markaki, Ioulia, Spernovasilis, Nikolaos
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal human relations
Biodiversity loss
Climate change
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Disease Outbreaks
Domestic animals
Global warming
Habitat loss
Humans
Infectious diseases
Influenza, Human - epidemiology
Land use
Letter to the Editor
Mammals
Monoculture
Palm oil
Pandemics
Pandemics - prevention & control
Pathogens
Species extinction
Urbanization
Wildfires
Wildlife trade
Zoonoses
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Summary:A study in the Asian-Australasian region revealed that those wild mammals that predominantly harbor emerging pathogens are 15 times more likely to use a human modified environment compared to other wild mammals in the same region.2 A typical case of this human–animal interface is bushmeat hunting for human consumption, which not only leads to species extinction but also promotes transmission of previously unknown infectious agents to humans.3 Urban wildlife markets are present in many parts of the world, creating pathways for zoonotic diseases to thrive. [...]the probable origin of COVID-19 was a wildlife market in the city of Wuhan, China.4 Illegal wildlife trade, a profitable business with tremendous financial interests, increases human exposure to wildlife vectors, resulting in the emergence of infectious diseases.5 All of these factors reflect the human greed and ceaseless need for intervention in ecosystems with a single purpose, human benefit. Urbanization, land use for industrial farming, monoculture tree plantations, especially for the production of palm oil, and wildfires, which are increasing exponentially due to global warming, all lead to habitat and biodiversity loss.6 This ultimately results in pathogen spillover from wildlife to domestic animals and humans while altering the abundance and distribution of certain disease vectors.
ISSN:0899-823X
1559-6834
DOI:10.1017/ice.2021.455