UN: Further outbreaks to emerge sans active gov’t measures

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to take lives and disrupt economies around the world, a new report by the United Nations has warned that further outbreaks will emerge unless governments take active measures to prevent other zoonotic diseases from crossing into the human population.

The report titled “Preventing the next pandemic: Zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmission,” a joint effort by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and the International Livestock Research Institute, identified seven trends driving the increasing emergence of zoonotic diseases, including the increased demand for animal protein; a rise in intense and unsustainable farming; the increased use and exploitation of wildlife, and the climate crisis.

It found that Africa, which has experienced and responded to a number of zoonotic epidemics, including the most recent Ebola outbreaks, could be a source of important solutions to quell future outbreaks.

A “zoonotic disease” or “zoonosis” is a disease that has passed into the human population from an animal source.

COVID-19, which has already caused more than half a million deaths around the world, most likely originated in bats. The infectious disease, however, is only the latest in a growing number of diseases, including Ebola, Middle East respiratory syndrome, West Nile fever and Rift Valley fever, whose spread from animal hosts into human populations has been intensified by anthropogenic pressures.

“The science is clear that if we keep exploiting wildlife and destroying our ecosystems, then we can expect to see a steady stream of these diseases jumping from animals to humans in the years ahead,” UNEP executive director Inger Andersen said.

“Pandemics are devastating to our lives and our economies, and as we have seen over the past months, it is the poorest and the most vulnerable who suffer the most. To prevent future outbreaks, we must become much more deliberate about protecting our natural environment,” she added.