Zoonoses are an infectious disease that spreads between animals and humans. They account for more than two-thirds of human emerging diseases.<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most significant burden on human health and livelihoods, amounting globally to about 1 billion cases of illness and millions of deaths every year, is caused by epidemic and endemic zoonoses that are persistent regional health problems around the world. Zoonoses originate in pathogens hosted by animals (wildlife and domestic animals) and are a substantial threat to global health and security. They have caused economic damages exceeding hundreds of billions of US dollars in the past 20 years, and this number will still rise with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has already cost more than 11,700 billion dollars. Zoonotic agents also represent the most significant number of infectious disease agents in humans, and projections indicate their number might significantly increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, it is crucial to act far ahead of epidemic and pandemic crises by implementing ambitious scientific and operational programs dedicated to preventing the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE EXPONENTIAL RISE OF ZOONOSES <\/strong>
<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rabies, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Nipah virus, Influenza viruses, Zika disease, Yellow fever, Chikungunya, Ebola, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV), Rift Valley fever, SARS-CoV-2\u2026 In the last decades, the frequency and number of zoonoses have exponentially increased along with the number of sporadic spillover<\/a> events, posing a significant threat to the global economy and public health.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Land-use change and degradation, unsustainable agricultural practices, and deforestation, among other factors, have increased the human imprint on nature, causing land biodiversity loss, thus seriously threatening ecosystem balances at the human-animal-plant\u2013environment interface. These risks are worsened by the extension of urban areas, international trade, and travel, including transboundary movement of animals, as well as climate crises. As the planet heats up, infectious diseases that were once confined to warm latitudes geographically expand. Vector-borne diseases \u2013 such as Crimea Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, Rift Valley fever, West Nile virus, etc. \u2013 are now being found in new areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

International and multi-sectoral collaboration is critical for understanding zoonosis emergence, prevention, risk reduction, and early detection, as well as for tackling risks of spillover and preventing pandemics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
• In 2023, zoonoses were 4 times more frequent than in the 1980\u2019s<\/li>\n\n\n\n
• Over 30 new human pathogens have been detected in the last three decades, 75% of which are of animal origin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
• Prevention costs for 10 years would be only about 2% of the costs of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
• Over 30% of emerging infectious diseases are attributed to land-use change, agricultural expansion and urbanisation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
• Diseases transmitted from animals to people in Africa have increased by 63% in the last decade, compared with the previous ten-year period<\/li>\n\n\n\n
• Around 25% of terrestrial, wild vertebrate species are traded globally.
  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Zoonoses are an infectious disease that spreads between animals and humans. They account for more than two-thirds of human emerging diseases. The most significant burden on human health and livelihoods, amounting globally to about 1 billion cases of illness and millions of deaths every year, is caused by epidemic and endemic zoonoses that are persistentContinue reading “The rise of zoonoses”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-pages\/article-page.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-579","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n