The link between habitat destruction and human health Climate change, and the emergence or new Viral infectionsIt was evident more than ever during the pandemic.
The arrival of SARS-CoV-2The spread of COVID-19 Bringing it into sharp focusHow human activities such as deforestationWild animals carrying viruses can be brought closer to people.
Researchers sought to show the connection between habitat loss and animal behavior in a new study.
The scientists specifically focused their attention on Hendra, which is bat-borne. ViralThis virus infects mostly fruit bats (also called flying foxes). The virus can be passed to humans by horses.
Peggy Eby, a behavioral ecologist at the University of New South Wales in Australia, and her colleagues say that “interactions between climate change and land-use change now lead to persistent bat residence in agricultural areas where periodic food shortages drive clusters of spreadovers.” Send an emailTheir published paper.
Zoonotic spillover refers to the phenomenon where viruses and other pathogens from animals can jump into humans, sometimes with fatal consequences. Hendra virus is just one example. HIV, EbolaThe list of other zoonotic illnesses that include the plague, rabies and encephalitis is quite grim.
Hendra virus – named after the Brisbane suburb Where it was discovered in 1994 – can cause severe or even fatal illness in humans and horses. Infected horses and bats feed on horse paddocks most often transmit the virus. The frequency and spread of Hendra virus outbreaks in Australia has increased since 2006. Increasing.
Eby and his colleagues analyzed decades of data in order to examine rapid changes in bat behavior during Hendra virus spreadover events in southwest Queensland, 1996-2020. These events were traced against data on local climate, food supplies and habitat loss.
Eby and his colleagues found that bat behavior and spillovers have changed dramatically from 2003 to 2020. Report.
The researchers fitted the data to a statistical modeling and showed that climate and land-use change drive bats to live within urban and agricultural areas. This increases the risk of Hendra virus spreading to horses.
In 2018, almost a third (33%) of the original natural fruit bat habitat had been cleared. Bats began to flock to urban areas to rest, but most spillover events (86%) took place in agricultural areas where horses can roam.
Drought-inducing El Niño events also caused winter food shortages for bats, heralding an increase in roosts closer to human-populated areas where bats could presumably find food.
Not only do food shortages and habitat loss thrust bats into areas where humans and horses live – increasing the number of human-animal encounters – but past research suggestsBats can become more vulnerable to viral shedding due to nutritional stress.
The researchers speculate that Hendra virus spillover clusters occur in winter months following food shortages. This could be due to the cumulative effects nutrition stress and high energy requirements (thermoregulation or pregnancy) as well as scarce resources in suboptimal environments. Send an email.
When nearby native forests flowered profusely in winter – something which is becoming increasingly rare – the bats reverted to their usual nomadic lifestyle, vacating urban and agricultural areas in favor of their natural habitat, and spillover events did not occur during these periods.
Researchers believe that the preservation of remnants from native forests, especially winter-flowering trees, which provide food when it is scarce, could be a sustainable strategy to reduce spillovers and protect the health and well-being of humans. Conclusion.
This study could be replicated in other areas where zoonotic disease outbreaks are common to reveal the factors that lead to them and help to develop strategies to reduce the chance of infection.
Long-term data, especially on bats, about viral reservoir hosts is scarce. Even with all the data we have, it is still the same problem: Humans continue to destroy habitats and bulldoze biodiversity.
A 2020 analysisA study of 6,800 ecological communities across 6 continents revealed that the species that thrive and survive the most are also more likely to be hosts for potentially deadly pathogens. This increases the risk of zoonotic diseases.
Kate Jones, an ecological modeler from University College London and co-author of the study, said, “We’ve warned about this for decades.” Submitted NatureIt was published on August 2020.
“Nobody paid any attention.”
In addition, the latest study was published in Nature.
