Have you wondered that in recent decades, the world has witnessed an alarming rise in new and re-emerging infectious diseases, from COVID-19 to Nipah virus infection? These outbreaks are no longer rare or unpredictable events; they are more like patterns. So what can be the reason behind it?
- Climate change: Rising global temperature and changing rainfall patterns are redesigning the ecosystem. Disease-carrying vectors like mosquitoes, house fly etc are expanding into new regions because of climate change. In a warmer climate pathogen survive longer and spread faster.
Example: Diseases like Dengue Fever and Malaria are now appearing in areas that were previously unaffected.
- Increased Human Animal Interaction: We have successfully destroyed most of the natural habitat of animals, and now they have no other option than to enter our man made word. Deforestation, wildlife trade, and urban expansion bring humans and animals closer. This increases the risk of “spillover” infections, where pathogens jump from animals to humans.
- Rapid travel globally: Due to easy and rapid travel, diseases can be spread throughout the globe within a few hours. A local pandemic can quickly become a global pandemic, as seen in COVID-19.
- Population Expansion: Rapid growth in population leads to many problems, like overcrowded cities with poor sanitation, lack of education, lack of resources, and so on. Slum areas are densely populated and often have a lot of hidden disease conditions.
5**. Microbial Evolution and mutation:** Pathogens are constantly evolving and adapting to the changing environment. Viruses mutate rapidly, creating new variants that can spread faster, evade immunity, and reduce vaccine effectiveness. With that, we are going towards antimicrobial resistance, which is a man-made crisis.
The rise of new diseases is not very random; it is largely driven by human activity. Climate change, increased population, poor public health and awareness, and environmental disruption are all manmade, and slowly we will have to pay the price for our deeds.
What do you think about the rise of new diseases
Read more: Reasons for the increase in emerging and re-emerging viral infectious diseases - PMC
