The use of land for intensive agriculture, which brings together wild animals whose habitats are disturbed to humans, makes the occurrence of pandemics such as that of Covid-19 more likely, according to a study published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature .
The UN estimates that three-quarters of the earth's land has been largely degraded by human activities since the start of the industrial age. One third of the land and three quarters of the fresh water is used in particular by agriculture.
Animals carrying pathogens
However, this use of land for agriculture is spreading every year often to the detriment of ecosystems such as forests, which are home to wild animals themselves hosts of many pathogens potentially transmissible to humans.
Reviewing 6,800 ecosystems across the planet, the team at University College London (UCL) found that animals known to carry pathogens (bats, rodents, birds) are more numerous in landscapes intensely modified by men. What confirms the need to change the way humanity uses land, to reduce the risks of future pandemics.
"Our results show that animals that persist in human-dominated environments are the most likely to carry infectious diseases that can make people sick," commented Rory Gibb, researcher at UCL.
Increasing risk of flight
Covid-19, which has infected more than 18 million people worldwide and killed more than 700,000, has probably passed from animal to human before being transmitted from human to human.
The new coronavirus is just one of many deadly viruses that have made the leap between animals and humans and as the reservoirs of wildlife are increasingly under pressure, the risk of leakage increases. .
"As farmlands and cities continue to expand, we should strengthen our disease surveillance and health arrangements in areas where the territories are highly disturbed," said Kate Jones, who also participated in the study, arguing for governments to consider agriculture and agrifood chains as directly linked to human health.
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- Planet
- Contamination
- Covid 19
- Biodiversity