PREVENTION OF ZOONOSES AND EFFECT ON ENVIRONMENT

Pandemic. Social distancing. Coronavirus.

These are some of the words that have become a part of our daily vocabulary recently. Well, add another one to that list — zoonosis. So what exactly does it mean? Zoonoses(sing. zoonosis)or zoonotic diseases are infectious diseases caused by pathogens that are transferred from animals to humans. They have different modes of transmission.

Direct zoonosis involves the direct transmission of pathogens from animals to humans via air or animal bite. Another mode of transmission is via vectors or an intermediate species that carry the pathogen without being infected. About 60% of known infectious diseases and 75% of newly emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin. Some examples of zoonoses are Ebola, Spanish Flu, SARS, MERS and COVID-19. If you haven’t noticed, these are all diseases that have caused some of the worst outbreaks in human history.

A 2014 study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface that examined the frequency of outbreaks of infectious disease between 1980 and 2013 concluded that the number of outbreaks and kinds of diseases has drastically increased over the years but with a decrease in the number of infected people per outbreak.

So what is the reason for this increase in outbreaks? The answer to that may be more complicated than expected.

It is no secret that human activities have had adverse side effects on our environment and ecosystem. Emissions from industrial factories and power plants and increased fossil fuel combustion from vehicles have resulted in an increase in the levels of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and other toxic gases like sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide in the atmosphere, overuse of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in agricultural practices have affected the pH of the soil and also resulted in the eutrophication of nearby water bodies, killing a majority of the flora and fauna in those water bodies.

Clearing forests to make up for the demand of a rapidly growing population is another activity that poses a major threat to the biodiversity around us.

Now, how is all this linked to the spread of zoonotic diseases? Well, as a result of all these activities, the natural habitats of many species of animals that are host to different kinds of pathogens have been destroyed which means these species become crowded together and also come into greater contact with humans. The species that survive this change move and mix with other animals which increases the chances of pathogens moving from one species to another. Loss in biodiversity as a result of habitat destruction and hunting can cause the predator-prey balance to be affected which results in the rapid growth of host animals like rats. Added to this, climate change further aggravates the situation by pushing animal populations to different areas and by compromising the health of animals through a reduced range of habitat. So, what can we do to help improve this situation?

There are a few possible steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of another deadly zoonotic disease from spreading. The first is to conduct surveillance of wildlife for high-risk pathogens. This will help understand how many such pathogens exist and also help identify and catalog them for future reference. The next is to conduct surveillance programs to locate communities living in places that have large wildlife diversity and are more likely to come into contact with host animals. These programs can be implemented by local public health authorities in coordination with agriculture and forestry sectors. Another step that can be taken is to improve the biosecurity of wildlife trade and animal markets. Improving the hygiene and sanitation regulations in these markets and also implementing routine disease checks and improving veterinary care of these animals while on farms and in transit to these wildlife markets is also crucial. Other than these steps, taking measures to reduce pollution, deforestation and reducing the overall destruction of the environment and its biodiversity is also important to keep in mind.

Recently, due to the lockdown, there have been reports of a significant decrease in air pollution all over the world. This shows that if all of us take the initiative to bring about positive change, we will surely be able to achieve it. So let us all strive to pitch in and do whatever it takes to create positive change.

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