dotlah! dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
Social Links
  • zedreviews.com
  • citi.io
  • aster.cloud
  • liwaiwai.com
  • guzz.co.uk
  • atinatin.com
0 Likes
0 Followers
0 Subscribers
dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
  • Animals
  • Environment
  • People

Why So Many Epidemics Originate In Asia And Africa – And Why We Can Expect More

  • March 4, 2020
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0

The coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19, is a frightening reminder of the imminent global threat posed by emerging infectious diseases. Although epidemics have arisen during all of human history, they now seem to be on the rise. In just the past 20 years, coronaviruses alone have caused three major outbreaks worldwide. Even more troubling, the duration between these three pandemics has gotten shorter.

On Feb. 18, 2020, in Seoul, South Korea, people wearing face masks pass an electric screen warning about COVID-19. AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

I am a virologist and associate director of the Animal Diagnostic Laboratory at Penn State University, and my laboratory studies zoonotic viruses, those that jump from animals and infect people. Most of the pandemics have at least one thing in common: They began their deadly work in Asia or Africa. The reasons why may surprise you.

Shoppers in face masks as they line up at a grocery store in Wuhan, a city of 11 million, in central China’s Hubei Province. The urbanization of once densely forested areas of Asia and Africa have contributed to the spread of these deadly viruses. AP Photo / Arek Rataj

Population explosion and changing urban landscapes

An unprecedented shift in human population is one reason why more diseases originate in Asia and Africa. Rapid urbanization is happening throughout Asia and the Pacific regions, where 60% of the world already lives. According to the World Bank, almost 200 million people moved to urban areas in East Asia during the first decade of the 21st century. To put that into perspective, 200 million people could form the eighth most populous country in the world.

Migration on that scale means forest land is destroyed to create residential areas. Wild animals, forced to move closer to cities and towns, inevitably encounter domestic animals and the human population. Wild animals often harbor viruses; bats, for instance, can carry hundreds of them. And viruses, jumping species to species, can ultimately infect people.

Eventually, extreme urbanization becomes a vicious cycle: More people bring more deforestation, and human expansion and the loss of habitat ultimately kills off predators, including those that feed off rodents. With the predators gone – or at least with their numbers sharply diminished – the rodent population explodes. And as studies in Africa show, so does the risk of zoonotic disease.

The situation is only likely to get worse. A major proportion of East Asia’s population still lives in rural areas. Urbanization is expected to continue for decades.

A family farm in Zambia. Disease in livestock is common, an easy way for pathogens to transfer from animals to people. Getty Images / Guillem Sartorio / AFP

Subsistence agriculture and animal markets

Tropical regions, rich in host biodiversity, already hold a large pool of pathogens, greatly increasing the chance that a novel pathogen will emerge. The farming system throughout Africa and Asia doesn’t help.

On both continents, many families depend on subsistence farming and a minuscule supply of livestock. Disease control, feed supplementation and housing for those animals is extremely limited. Cattle, chickens and pigs, which can carry endemic disease, are often in close contact with each other, a variety of nondomestic animals and humans.

And not just on the farms: Live animal markets, commonplace throughout Asia and Africa, feature crowded conditions and the intimate mixing of multiple species, including humans. This too plays a key role in how a killer pathogen could emerge and spread between species.

Another risk: bushmeat hunting and butchering, which is particularly widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. These activities, as they threaten animal species and irrevocably change ecosystems, also bring people and wild animals together. Bushmeat hunting is a clear and primary path for zoonotic disease transmission.

So is traditional Chinese medicine, which purports to provide remedies for a host of conditions like arthritis, epilepsy and erectile dysfunction. Although no scientific evidence exists to support most of the claims, Asia is an enormous consumer of traditional Chinese medicine products. Tigers, bears, rhinos, pangolins and other animal species are poached so their body parts can be mixed into these questionable medications. This, too, is a major contributor to increasing animal-human interactions. What’s more, demand is likely to go up, as online marketing soars along with Asia’s relentless economic growth.

A matter of time

The viruses, thousands of them, continue to evolve. It’s just a matter of time before another major outbreak occurs in this region of the world. All the coronaviruses that caused recent epidemics, including the COVID-19, jumped from bats to another animal before infecting humans. It’s difficult to predict precisely what chain of events cause a pandemic, but one thing is certain: these risks can be mitigated by developing strategies to minimize human effects which contribute to the ecological disturbances.

As the current outbreak has shown, an infectious disease that starts in one part of the world can spread globally in virtually no time whatsoever. There is an urgent need for constructive conservation strategies to prevent deforestation and reduce animal-human interactions. And a comprehensive global surveillance system to monitor the emergence of these diseases – now missing – would be an indispensable tool in helping us fight these deadly and terrifying epidemics.

The Conversation

Suresh V Kuchipudi, Clinical Professor and Associate Director of Animal Diagnostic Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Total
0
Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Share
Related Topics
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Bats
  • Coronavirus
  • COVID-19
  • Epidemic
  • Livestock
  • Pandemic
  • Viruses
dotlah.com

Previous Article
  • Society

Why So Many Epidemics Originate In Asia And Africa – And Why We Can Expect More

  • March 4, 2020
View Post
Next Article
  • Society

Coronavirus: Which Countries Are Most Affected?

  • March 5, 2020
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • People
  • Politics

Singapore PM Wong arrives in Malacañang

  • dotlah.com
  • June 4, 2025
View Post
  • Featured
  • Features
  • People

Conclave: How A New Pope Is Chosen

  • Dean Marc
  • April 25, 2025
View Post
  • People

PM Wong takes Scoot flight, fellow passengers cheer

  • dotlah.com
  • October 16, 2024
singapore-carbon-market-alliance
View Post
  • Economy
  • Environment

Launch of Singapore Carbon Market Alliance (SCMA) to enable access to and supply of high-quality carbon credits

  • dotlah.com
  • August 1, 2024
dotlah-pm-lee-lawrence-wong-9656d4cd-1fa4-40ed-905d-e19e639b8476_728802dd
View Post
  • Lah!
  • People
  • Politics

End of Lee Era for Singapore as PM Steps Down

  • dotlah.com
  • May 16, 2024
View Post
  • People
  • Politics

‘A much bigger step forward’: Lawrence Wong on his journey to becoming Singapore’s fourth PM

  • dotlah.com
  • May 15, 2024
DPM Lawrence Wong will be Singapore's fourth prime minister on May 15. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
View Post
  • Lah!
  • People
  • Politics

7 things to know about Singapore’s next prime minister Lawrence Wong

  • dotlah.com
  • May 15, 2024
When asked about his leadership style, DPM Lawrence Wong said he will be open and consultative, but he will not shirk from doing what is necessary for Singapore's future. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
View Post
  • Features
  • Lah!
  • People
  • Politics

‘We are prepared to relook everything’: Lawrence Wong on a changing society and his hopes for S’pore

  • dotlah.com
  • May 15, 2024


Trending
  • 1
    • Cities
    • Lah!
    SGX Launches The World’s First ESG REIT Derivatives
    • June 15, 2021
  • The-Infinity_of_Numbers___by_Johimja__e1abe88e-12df-4a5c-b256-763b9a131ce6 2
    • Science
    • Technology
    Exploring Dedekind Numbers – Infinite Patterns in Mathematics
    • July 13, 2023
  • 3
    • Lah!
    • Technology
    SGX And Temasek JV Ties Up With Covalent To Build End-To-End Digital Infrastructure
    • February 2, 2021
  • 4
    • Cities
    Why We Need New Climate Models
    • August 22, 2019
  • 5
    • Cities
    • Lah!
    Singaporeans Remain Satisfied With Overall Public Cleanliness But Have A Greater Reliance On cleaning Services To Keep Singapore Clean
    • August 21, 2021
  • 6
    • Lah!
    • Society
    NTUC Income Extends COVID-19 Protection To Over 550,000 Individuals In Response To Evolving Outbreak Situation
    • March 18, 2020
  • 7
    • Lah!
    Microsoft And Lee Kuan Yew School Of Public Policy Launch APAC Leaders Digital Alliance
    • December 7, 2021
  • 8
    • People
    Nobel Peace Prize 2023: Award For Iranian Women’s Rights Protester Highlights Fight Against Declining Democracy Around The World
    • October 8, 2023
  • 9
    • Lah!
    • Society
    NTU Singapore And Temasek Foundation Host Asia’s Young Leaders At Regional Dialogue To Discuss Inequality
    • January 4, 2021
  • 10
    • Lah!
    GreenGov.SG: Public Sector Leads The Way Towards A Low-carbon And Sustainable Future
    • May 6, 2021
  • driving-jan-kronies-mpSeLIXMnpc-unsplash 11
    • Cities
    How To Drive Safely And Reduce Your Risk Of Accidents
    • March 19, 2021
  • 12
    • Cities
    Pandemic Alters Political Conventions – Which Have Always Changed With The Times
    • August 24, 2020
Trending
  • 1
    Apple unveils iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the most powerful and advanced Pro models ever
    • September 9, 2025
  • 2
    Apple debuts iPhone 17
    • September 9, 2025
  • Fruits and vegetables for cooking. For food processors. 3
    Food Processor: The Swiss Army Knife of the Kitchen – Best All-Around Picks in 2025
    • September 8, 2025
  • 4
    Meet Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Series: Packing Everything You Expect From a Premium Tablet
    • September 4, 2025
  • 5
    Malaysia’s ‘ASEAN Shenzhen’ needs some significant legal reform to take off — here’s how
    • August 25, 2025
  • French Fries 6
    Air Fryer: The One Cooking Appliance to Rule Them All – Best All-Around Picks in 2025
    • August 22, 2025
  • 7
    Samsung Electronics Debuts Odyssey G7 Monitors, Showcasing Top Games on Its Displays at Gamescom 2025
    • August 20, 2025
  • 8
    HP Cranks Up the Game with Smarter Systems, Cooler Builds, and Gear That Hits Different
    • August 14, 2025
  • 9
    New Trump tariffs: early modelling shows most economies lose – the US more than many
    • August 6, 2025
  • Scuba Diving 10
    Wetsuit or Drysuit? As always, it depends. This quick guide can help you choose.
    • August 2, 2025
Social Links
dotlah! dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
Connecting Dots Across Asia's Tech and Urban Landscape

Input your search keywords and press Enter.