THE upside of the coronavirus pestilence is greater awareness of biodiversity or species of plants and animals’ conservation. Nearly all the new infectious diseases that scientists know about originate in animals and so will the emergence of diseases in the years to come. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) began in chimpanzees, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in bats, influenza in aquatic birds. At some point, the animal pathogens jump the species barrier to humans which experts call a spillover. Spillovers have always occurred, but the rapid environmental changes wreaked by humans in recent years have accelerated the spread.
Scientists believe bats are most likely the source of the coronavirus, with pangolins also being eyed as the transmitter of the pathogens. While China cracked down on wildlife trade after the SARS epidemic in 2003, the emergence of Covid-19 clearly showed a lot more needs to be done. Apart from killer diseases traced to animals, the world continues to confront the many problems that are endangering both plant and wildlife.
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