Page 10 - Seniors Today -April20
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landscape changes cause animals to lose meat to fast-growing urban populations
habitats, which means species become around the world. Here, animals are
crowded together and also come into greater slaughtered, cut up and sold on the spot. The
contact with humans. “wet market” (one that sells fresh produce
Altering the ecosystem affects the complex and meat) in Wuhan, thought by the Chinese
cycle of the pathogen. Nature poses threats, government to be the starting point of the
it is true, but it’s human activities that current Covid-19 pandemic, was known
do the real damage. The health risks in a to sell numerous wild animals, including
natural environment is much worse when live wolf pups, salamanders, crocodiles,
we interfere with it. If we aren’t careful now, scorpions, rats, squirrels, foxes, civets and
there will be more new pathogens with other turtles.
impacts that could be bigger than large-scale Equally, urban markets in west and central
human mortalities. Africa sell monkeys, bats, rats, and dozens
Rodents and some bats thrive when we of species of bird, mammal, insect and
disrupt natural habitats. They are the rodent slaughtered and sold close to open
most likely to promote transmissions of refuse dumps and with no drainage. Wet
pathogens. The more we disturb the forests markets make a perfect storm for cross-
and habitats, the more danger we are in. species transmission of pathogens. When
Environmental changes influence the species interact with a range of other species
probability that humans will be exposed to in one place, whether that is in a natural
infectious diseases. environment like a forest or a wet market,
Disease ecologists argue that viruses and there is bound to be a spillover at a point,
other pathogens are also likely to move from because they aren’t supposed to interact
animals to humans in the many informal closely.
markets that have sprung up to provide fresh What can we do?
The more we disturb the forests and habitats, the more danger we are in
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