Pandemic proofing the world
Really great read from Dr. Delia Grace of ILRI on tackling the root causes of zoonoses.
Specific highlights:
1. 8 out of the 11 major pandemics since the 1980s have a common feature》they involve domestic animal hosts
2. Why are domestic animals playing a major role in transmitting disease? there are simply increasing numbers of them.
3. Currently, humans & their animals make up 96-98% of the planet’s mammalian zoomass and are genetically very similar
4. Homogenous genetics & confined spaces of industrial production systems→incubator for disease pathogens.
5. Many a times: a zoonotic disease erupts not when animals begin to die, but when people do.
6. Changing incentive structures to reward instead of punish would improve rapid responses to initial disease outbreaks
7. To prevent future emerging zoonoses there’s need to tackle the root causes of emergence e.g. anthropogenic drivers
https://howwegettonext.com/pandemic-proofing-the-world-98222a38782?gi=7ba6f2c47655#.7zqm49k09
