Why do pandemics of the world come from animals?

The survival of the pathogen depends on the infection of the new host. While the new host's immune system tries to destroy the pathogen, the pathogen will "find a way" to evolve to survive by moving on to a new species.

Over the past 50 years, humans have experienced a range of contagious infectious diseases. The 1980s HIV / AIDS crisis originated from the great ape; Zika virus originates from mosquitoes; bats eat Ebola fluids; swine flu spreads A / H1N1 and currently, bats are believed to be the source of the corona virus outbreak.

Passengers wear a corona prevention mask at an airport in Hong Kong - (Image: GETTY)

But why do pandemics usually originate from animals?

According to the BBC, people are always at risk from animal diseases, because most animals carry a variety of pathogens in their bodies. The survival of the pathogen depends on the infection of the new host.

While the new host's immune system tries to destroy the pathogen, the pathogen will "find a way" to evolve to survive by crossing to a new species.

Which means that both germs and hosts are like being locked in an eternal evolution game that is trying to find new ways to destroy each other.

Meanwhile, world economic development, climate change are eliminating and changing the habitats of animals , changing the way they live, where they live and which species eat what.

Human lifestyles have also changed, with 55% of the global population now living in cities, compared to 35% 50 years ago. These larger cities provide new homes for wildlife: rats, pandas, squirrels, foxes, birds, jackals, monkeys, etc.

More and more wild animals live in big cities - (Image: GETTY)

They can live in green spaces like parks, home gardens and leave waste everywhere, making urban spaces appear more and more new diseases.

The current climate and climate change is accelerating this process. Increasing international tourism demand makes the spread of new diseases become faster and more extensive.

The current corona virus epidemic has a rapidly spreading rate because of these causes. Within a month of China reporting the first case, more than 9,600 cases have been reported worldwide, more than 200 of which have died. The number of infections is expected to increase further in the near future.

Who is most at risk of infection?

It is a group of people living in the city but working in food processing, cleaning, cleaning and tending animals, due to the many opportunities to contact sources and carriers.

This group may also have a weaker immune system due to poor nutrition, frequent exposure to low quality air or unhygienic conditions. And if infected, they often pay less attention and are not eligible to go to health facilities.

The new disease spread rapidly in big cities because of its dense population; Thousands of people can breathe the same atmosphere and touch the same surface.

One of the other notable causes is that in some cultures, people use wildlife to make food, making it easier for the virus to be transmitted from animals to humans.

Pandemics are part of our future

Experts say that humans must accept the appearance of disease as part of our future. The "proactive recognition" puts us in a stronger position to fight new pandemics.

A century ago, the Spanish flu pandemic infected about half a billion people and killed 50 to 100 million people worldwide. After that, the scientific advances and the investment in global medical research have helped humanity more or less to cope with such diseases in the future.

However, risks are unpredictable. At any time in the future, people will experience major epidemics.

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