Biodiversity loss is the biggest environmental driver of the outbreak of infectious diseases, which makes them more dangerous and widespread, according to a study published in the well-known journal "Nature".
New infectious diseases are on the rise and often originate from wild animals. In a meta-analysis published in the journal Nature, researchers found that of all the "drivers of global change" that destroy ecosystems, species loss is the most influential when it comes to increasing the risk of disease outbreaks. The loss of biodiversity is accompanied by climate change and the introduction of non-native species, according to the Guardian.
"The messages are that loss of biodiversity, climate change and introduced species increase diseases, while urbanization reduces them," said the lead researcher, prof. Jason Rohr from the University of "Notre Dame" in the USA. Experts analyzed nearly a thousand studies of global environmental drivers of infectious diseases, covering every continent except Antarctica. They also looked at the severity and prevalence of disease in plant, animal and human hosts.
The team focused on five drivers of global change - biodiversity loss, climate change, chemical pollution, non-native species and habitat loss. They found that four of the five drivers of global change increased the spread of disease: all but habitat loss increased their spread. The results were the same in human and non-human diseases.
The change in habitat has reduced the risk due to the trend of people moving towards a specific type of habitat - cities. Urban areas tend to have less disease, partly because of better public sanitation, but also because there is less wildlife. Rohr said, "In urban areas with a lot of concrete, there are much fewer species that can thrive in that environment. From a human disease perspective, there is often more sanitation and health infrastructure than in rural areas."
Interest in zoonoses, which the World Health Organization explains are infectious diseases that pass from animals to humans, has increased since the Covid pandemic, which some researchers believe originated from a bat. Many other diseases currently alarming global health authorities - including swine flu and bird flu - also originate from wildlife. Three-quarters of new human diseases are zoonotic, meaning they infect both wild and domestic animals.
Previous studies have suggested links between these diseases and environmental changes (for example, global warming could mean malaria is becoming more widespread), but it was previously unclear which environmental drivers had the biggest impact. The researchers noted that many of the drivers are interconnected: "For example, climate change and chemical pollution can cause habitat loss and alteration, which in turn can cause biodiversity loss."
Researchers say that reducing emissions, reducing biodiversity loss and preventing invasive species could help reduce the burden of disease. "We hope that our analyzes will facilitate disease control, mitigation and surveillance on a global scale," the researchers wrote in the paper.
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