Climate change may increase infectious disease

When an animal is forced to change its habitat, this not only threatens the existence of the animal itself, but also has a knock-on effect, possibly even upsetting the viral network in other species. mammals, creating disease hotspots that could trigger future pandemics.

To date, at least 10,000 viruses that can infect humans reside in wild animals, and most can be transmitted between animals without being detected. Usually the diseases they cause will not spread to humans, but in some cases a virus will spread from one species to another, a phenomenon known as “cross-contamination”. When new infectious diseases spread between animal hosts and then into humans, the consequences will be dire.

Mr. Colin Carlson – Study co-author said: “Climate Change increases the risk of infectious diseases. We did deep research to find out how when animals move to new places, viruses also move. When you think about this process, it’s clear that if species come to new habitats, they will likely encounter new viruses.”

According to new research published in the journal Nature, the possibility of cross-contamination may increase dramatically as the Earth’s climate warms, possibly infecting thousands of new viruses to humans. Because global warming forces animals to move their habitats in search of food and colder weather conditions. The study authors predict that there will be at least 15,000 new transmissions of the virus between species by 2070 if global temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius.

The scientists also modeled the change in habitat of more than 3,000 animal species and predicted potential hotspots for new viral outbreaks. Notably, projections suggest that the majority of new outbreaks will likely occur in the tropics of Africa and Southeast Asia, rather than in colder climates such as the Arctic.

The expert warned that failure of countries in their goals to curb climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions would cause a worse disaster.

* Invite readers to watch programs broadcast by Vietnam Television on TV Online and VTVGo!