COVID 19- Nature's Wake Up Call To Complacent Civilisation
We have been living in a bubble of false comfort and denial. Nature is sending us a message wih the Coronavirus pandemic and ongoing climate crisis. Too much pessure on the natural world with damaging consequences failing to take care of planet meant not taking care of ourselves. Leading scientists say that COVID-19 outbreak was a "clear warning shot" given that far more deadly diseases existed in wildlife and that today's civilisation was "playing with fire". It was almost always human behaviour that caused diseases to spill over the Humans. Both the global heating and destruction of natural world for farming, mining and housing have to end to prevent further outbreaks, as both drive wildlife into contact with people. Auhorities must put an end to Live Animal Markets which are called as "illegal Global Animal Trade".
"Never before have so many opportunities existed for Pathogens to pass from Wildlife and domestic animals to people" explains that 75% of all emerging infectious diseases come from wildlife. Continued erosion of wild spaces has brought uncomfortably close to animals that harbour diseases which can jump to Humans. We are intimately inter-connected with nature, whether we like it or not. If we don't care of Nature, we can't take care of ourselves. As we hurtle towards a population of 10 billion people on this Planet, we need to go into this future alongwith Nature as our strongest ally.
The emergence and spread of COVID-19 was not only predictable, it was predicted in the sense that there would be another viral emergence from wildlife that would be a public health threat.
"The presence of a large reservoir of SARS-CoV like viruses in Horseshoe Bats, together with the eating of exotic Mammals in South China, is a time Bomb." Other diseases from wildlife had been much higher fatality rates in people, such as 50% of EBOLA, 60-75% for NIPAH virus, transmitted from Bats in South Asia. One might not think it at the moment, that we have probably a bit lucky with COVID-19. But it should be taking as a clear warning shot. It's a throw of Dice.
It's always a human behaviour that causes it and there will be more in the future unless we change. Markets butchering live wild animals from far and wide are the most obvious example. A market in China is believed to have been the source of COVID-19. Animals transported over large distances and crammed together in cages are stressed and immuno suppressed and exerting pathogens whatever they have in them. With people in large numbers in market and intimate contact body fluids of these animals, it's an ideal mixing bowl for disease emergence. As such, there is no better way maximsing the chances of transmission, which one could ever think of.
China has banned such markets which needs to be done permanently Globally as well. There are such markets in Sub Saharan Africa and lot in other Asian countries. The destruction of natural places drives wild life to live close to people and that climate change forcing animals to move. "That creates an opportuinty for pathogens to get into bew hosts".
COVID-19 may prove an opportuinty for change. Everybody up in arms about it. But it went away due to control measures.
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"Never before have so many opportunities existed for Pathogens to pass from Wildlife and domestic animals to people" explains that 75% of all emerging infectious diseases come from wildlife. Continued erosion of wild spaces has brought uncomfortably close to animals that harbour diseases which can jump to Humans. We are intimately inter-connected with nature, whether we like it or not. If we don't care of Nature, we can't take care of ourselves. As we hurtle towards a population of 10 billion people on this Planet, we need to go into this future alongwith Nature as our strongest ally.
The emergence and spread of COVID-19 was not only predictable, it was predicted in the sense that there would be another viral emergence from wildlife that would be a public health threat.
"The presence of a large reservoir of SARS-CoV like viruses in Horseshoe Bats, together with the eating of exotic Mammals in South China, is a time Bomb." Other diseases from wildlife had been much higher fatality rates in people, such as 50% of EBOLA, 60-75% for NIPAH virus, transmitted from Bats in South Asia. One might not think it at the moment, that we have probably a bit lucky with COVID-19. But it should be taking as a clear warning shot. It's a throw of Dice.
It's always a human behaviour that causes it and there will be more in the future unless we change. Markets butchering live wild animals from far and wide are the most obvious example. A market in China is believed to have been the source of COVID-19. Animals transported over large distances and crammed together in cages are stressed and immuno suppressed and exerting pathogens whatever they have in them. With people in large numbers in market and intimate contact body fluids of these animals, it's an ideal mixing bowl for disease emergence. As such, there is no better way maximsing the chances of transmission, which one could ever think of.
China has banned such markets which needs to be done permanently Globally as well. There are such markets in Sub Saharan Africa and lot in other Asian countries. The destruction of natural places drives wild life to live close to people and that climate change forcing animals to move. "That creates an opportuinty for pathogens to get into bew hosts".
COVID-19 may prove an opportuinty for change. Everybody up in arms about it. But it went away due to control measures.
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