Zoonotic diseases are spreading due to cutting of forests

Ground Report | New Delhi: Zoonotic diseases; Due to deforestation, loss of habitat, the chances of spreading the virus have increased. The wildlife is most at risk of disease in order to anticipate viruses that transmit disease from wildlife to people and prevent future epidemics.  

According to a study is published in the journal Global Change Biology a team of researchers led by Wageningen University and Research (WUR) in the Netherlands reported that mammal biodiversity is an important mechanism driving wildlife disease risks. They discovered about 4466 mammal species around the world which were spread in great numbers. They identified disease threats by analyzing data from these species.

Zoonotic diseases

Mammalian organisms have disease-carrying viruses that spread disease to humans. This process of spreading the disease is called zoonotic. It is believed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus spread from animals to people, due to which the whole world is a victim of the Covid-19 epidemic.

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The researchers found that increases in mammals and their local variation play an important role in increasing the risk of wildlife disease. With a quarter of all mammal species at risk of extinction, says study researcher Yingying Wang, we urgently need to understand how the loss of biodiversity affects zoonotic disease risk.   

He and his colleagues used information on climate and their preferred habitat, body mass, and diet of mammals as the first to model a terrestrial mammal living around the world. How many animals of which species live together and where? Based on these factors, the researchers calculated disease risk using an ecological version of the epidemiological parameter 'R-note'. (Zoonotic diseases)

Such findings force us to acknowledge the nuance and complexity of the relationship between biodiversity and disease. Researcher de Boer said it is exciting that our forecasts fit so well with past global patterns of disease outbreaks. This shows that we have taken a step in the right direction in understanding how the relationship between diseases and biodiversity actually works.

Know about this diseases?

Zoonotic diseases, also known as zoonoses, are diseases caused by microbes that spread between animals and people. "Simply put, a zoonotic disease is one that originates in animals and can cause disease in humans," said Barbara Han, a disease ecologist at the Carey Institute of Ecosystem Studies in New York.

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Zoonotic diseases are prevalent around the world; They can be caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites or fungi, and can cause mild or severe illness or death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), experts estimate that about 60% of known infectious diseases in people can be transmitted by animals and that 3 out of every 4 new diseases in people are of animal origin.

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