Studies show that hunting, trade, habitat degradation and urbanization have promoted wildlife and humans Close contact, which increases the risk of virus transmission. As the new coronavirus spreads around the world, people can’t help but ask: Are infectious diseases related to environmental changes? A study published recently by American scientists has come to a positive answer.
Hunting, trade, habitat degradation and urbanization have promoted close contact between wildlife and humans, thereby increasing the risk of virus transmission. The related papers were published in the Journal of the Royal Society B on April 8. These activities have also led to the decline and extinction of wildlife. The study provides new evidence for assessing the risk of animal virus “outflow” and highlights how the process of causing the decline in the number of wild animals can transmit animal viruses to humans.
“Viruses spilling from animals are a direct result of people’s impact on wildlife and their habitats: they share the virus with us.” The study leader, California Christine Kreuder Johnson of the University of Davis said, “Human activities also threaten the survival of species, thereby increasing the risk of ‘spillover’. Unfortunately, many factors come together, leading to the kind of Confusion. “
In this study, scientists collected a large data set of 142 known viruses that spread from animals to humans and those believed to be Is a species of potential host. Using the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species, they studied the abundance of these species, the risk of extinction, and the potential causes of species decline. The data shows a clear trend of the risk of virus “spilling” and highlights how humans have historically interacted with animals.
Researchers found that domestic animals, including domestic animals, share the largest number of viruses with humans, and the number of zoonotic viruses is eight times that of wild mammals. This may be the result of frequent human interaction with these animals over the centuries. As the number increases, wild animals that can adapt well to the human-dominated environment will also share more viruses with humans, including some rodents, bats, and primates. They live inHuman habitations, farms, and crops around it make it a high-risk species that spreads viruses to humans. And the decline in the number of some animals is related to hunting, wildlife trade and habitat quality decline. It is predicted that the number of zoonotic viruses carried by these species is twice that of other endangered species.
In addition, threatened and endangered species are often strictly managed and directly monitored. While trying to restore their populations, they have more contact with humans. “We need to focus on how to interact with wild animals and how to connect humans and wild animals. We obviously do n’t want to see an epidemic of this scale again, so we need to find a way to coexist with wild animals safely, because they are not lacking Such a virus. “Johnson said.
Related paper information: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.2736
(original title Research reveals relationship between virus spread and wildlife and environment)