Why are we seeing more pandemics? Our impact on the planet has a lot to do with it

The pandemic – the global spread of infectious diseases – appears to be making a comeback. In the Middle Ages we had the Black Death (plague) and after World War I, the Spanish flu. Tens of tens of millions of individuals he died of those diseases.

Then the science began working gain the advantageand vaccination almost completely eliminated smallpox and polio. Antibiotics have change into available to treat bacterial infections, and more recently, antiviral drugs have also change into available.

But lately and many years, pandemics they appear to be coming back. In the Nineteen Eighties we had HIV/AIDS, then several flu pandemics, SARS, and now Covid (no, it’s not over yet).

So why is that this happening and is there anything we can do to prevent future pandemics?

Unsustainable ecosystems

Healthy, stable ecosystems provide services that keep us healthy, resembling providing food and clean water, producing oxygen, and providing green spaces for our residents. relaxation and well-being.

Another key service provided by ecosystems is disease regulation. When nature is in balance – predators control herbivore populations and herbivores control plant growth – it is more difficult for pathogens to emerge in a way that causes pandemics.

But when human activity disrupt and disturb the balance of ecosystems – for instance as a results of climate change and biodiversity loss – things are going fallacious.

For example, climate change affects the number and distribution of plants and animals. As the planet warms, disease-carrying mosquitoes may migrate from the tropics to once temperate climates and should infect more people during months that are typically disease-free.

We investigated the relationship between weather and dengue transmission in China our findings confirm the same conclusion he reached many other studies: Climate change is probably going to put more people prone to dengue.

Biodiversity loss can have similar effects by disrupting food chains. When farmers cut down forests South America to graze cattle in the first half of the twentieth century, tiny, forest-dwelling, blood-eating vampire bats suddenly had a smörgåsbord of huge, sessile animals to feed on.

While vampire bats were previously kept in check by limited food availability and the presence of predators in the balance forest ecosystemthe species’ numbers have exploded in South America.

These bats carry the rabies virus that causes rabies fatal brain infections in bitten people. Although deaths from bat-borne rabies have now fallen dramatically as a results of vaccination programs in South America, rabies from bites from other animals still stays. poses a global threat.

As urban and agricultural development impact natural ecosystems, there’s an increasing risk of humans and pets becoming infected with pathogens that may normally only be present in wild animals, especially when humans hunt and eat wild animals.

HIV virus e.g. first entered the human population from apes that were killed in Africa for food after which spread around the world through travel and trade.

Meanwhile, it is believed that bats original tank for the virus that caused the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed over 7 million people up to now.

Ultimately, until we effectively address the unsustainable impact we have on our planet, pandemics will proceed to occur.

Targeting the ultimate causes

Factors resembling climate change, biodiversity loss and other global challenges are the ultimate (high-ranking) explanation for the pandemic. Meanwhile, the direct (immediate) cause is increased contact between people, pets and wildlife.

In the case of HIV, although the direct cause was direct contact with infected monkey blood, the monkeys were only killed because large numbers of very poor people were hungry – which was the ultimate cause.

The distinction between ultimate causes and proximate causes is vital because we often only deal with proximate causes. For example, people may smoke due to stress or social pressure (the ultimate explanation for lung cancer), but it is the toxins in the smoke that cause the cancer (the proximate cause).

Generally speaking, the health service is anxious only with stopping people from smoking and treating the diseases that result from it, not with removing drivers who encourage people to smoke.

We respond to pandemics similarly, with lockdowns, mask-wearing, social distancing and vaccinations – all measures to stop the spread of the virus. However, we have paid less attention to addressing the ultimate causes of the pandemic – perhaps until recently.

A planetary approach to health

There is growing awareness of the importance of adopting a “health of the planet” approach to improving human health. This concept relies on the understanding that human health and human civilization depend on the flourishing of natural systems and on the clever management of those systems.

With this approach, key drivers resembling climate change and biodiversity loss shall be prioritized in stopping future pandemics, while working with experts from a wide selection of fields to address the immediate causes, thereby reducing overall risk.

A planetary health approach has the advantage of concurrently improving environmental health and human health. We are encouraged by the increased use of teaching planetary health concepts in the environmental sciences, humanities and health sciences at many universities.

As climate change, biodiversity loss, population displacement, travel and trade proceed to increase the risk of disease outbreaks, it is critical that future planetary stewards higher understand how to address the ultimate causes that cause pandemics.