Global Linkages
Biodiversity conservation
Global pandemics occur when a new disease suddenly appears against which humans have no immunity. They are often caused by a virus or other pathogens “jumping” from animals to humans. These transfers from animals to humans are called zoonoses and include infections or infectious diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and prions (proteins linked to several fatal neurodegenerative diseases). Zoonoses are transmitted through a variety of pathways, including through direct contact between animals and humans, biting insects, ingesting food and water contaminated with parasites and through the air. The Spanish flu of 1918, caused by the Influenza A virus found naturally in wild aquatic birds, claimed between Zoonoses: From animals to humans
30 and 50 million lives (Taubenberger and Morens, 2006) and is perhaps the best-known – and deadliest – example. The rabies virus and recent emerging diseases, such as the Ebola and Zika viruses, are other examples. The greatest risk of emerging zoonotic diseases is thought to occur in tropical regions, where wildlife biodiversity and land- use change is highest (Allen et al., 2017). However, given the high rate of warming in the Arctic, animal hosts or insect vectors may expand northward and survive, bringing them, together with their pathogens, into contact with human populations. A warmer climate could allow infected host species to
Probable hotspots for infectious diseases
Alaska (U.-S.)
WASHINGTON STATES
Seattle
CALIFORNIA
PACIFIC OCEAN
CANADA
UNITED STATES
PACIFIC OCEAN
ARCTIC OCEAN
MIDDLE WEST
TEXAS
EAST ASIA
MEXICO
Beijing
Shanghaï
NORTH EAST COAST
Hongkong
CHINA
Stockholm
Moscow
COLOMBIA
ECUADOR
VENEZUELA
Dacca
EUROPE
INDONESIA
PERU
INDIA
AUSTRALIA
Sydney
Madrid
SOUTH ASIA
Tehran
Mumbai
Jakarta
ISRAEL
MAGHREB
Melbourne
Abu-Dhabi
Alexandria
Riyad
EGYPT
ATLANTIC OCEAN
INDIAN OCEAN
BRAZIL
Santiago
ETHIOPIA
Land use change
NIGERIA
NORDESTE
SOUTH EAST REGION
CHILE
Kampala
WEST AFRICA
Primary drivers of past disease emergence
Rio de Janeiro
Sao Paulo
10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30
GREAT LAKES
Porto Alegre
SOUTH AFRICA
Agriculture industry
International travel and commerce
Medical industry
War and famine
Climate and weather
Human demography and behaviour
High risk of new infectious diseases events being observed High estimated risk of new events after factoring out reporting bias Prediction of relative risk distribution of zoonotic emerging infectious disease events
0 2 4 6 8
Public health breakdown
Other drivers
Bushmeat
Food industry
42
Global Linkages
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs