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Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Study exposes troubling factor linked to rising pandemic risk: 'Severe consequences'
A new study into the effects of biodiversity loss and human activity on global pathogens has experts sounding the alarm. Neil Vora, senior director of One Health at Conservation International, told Mongabay that "humanity's broken relationship with nature is driving global changes that have severe consequences for our own health." The study, published in the journal Nature Reviews Biodiversity, found a link between declining biodiversity and increased risk of pandemics. "We know that biodiversity loss is increasing. We know that the climate is getting warmer and harder to predict, and that these things are all happening at the same time," Daniel Becker, assistant professor of biology at the University of Oklahoma and one of the study's authors, told Mongabay. "So we've … entered what we call this polycrisis." Drier hot seasons and wetter rainy seasons are the perfect conditions for another global pandemic, the researchers said. "Above all, climate change affects the distribution, the abundance, and the spread of vectors," Dr Tim Endy told the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. Worsening heat conditions could force bats, mosquitoes, and rats out of their locales, spreading diseases like Lassa fever or the Nipah virus to populations without natural immunity over a much wider area. The problems are also apparent closer to home. Lyme disease, an acute concern in the northeast, may be exacerbated by habitat and biodiversity loss. Opossums, which feed on the ticks that carry the disease, are one of the best natural defenses against it. Woodland loss makes them less abundant and also reduces red foxes, which hunt the carriers of the ticks. The study's authors first called for further research and education to form effective strategies to combat the risk, such as avoiding unhelpful practices like mass culling of local wildlife. Additionally, the authors suggested more international cooperation to stem habitat destruction and biodiversity loss. The World Health Organization has been working to create a binding international pandemic agreement. International cooperation can and has worked in the past; take the success of the Montreal Protocol, for example. The United States' withdrawal from the WHO in January may complicate those efforts, though the country's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could still apply its own protections. Either way, individuals can take action locally to help protect the environment against some of these domino effects as well. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Euronews
26-03-2025
- Health
- Euronews
24 dangerous pathogen groups are posing serious health risks, UK experts warn
ADVERTISEMENT Pathogens that cause the bird flu, COVID-19, and a bat-borne virus that causes brain swelling pose a risk to public health and could lead to the next pandemic, biosecurity experts in the United Kingdom have warned. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) identified 24 pathogen families as a health risk for one of several reasons: either they are highly contagious or cause serious disease, they do not have enough vaccines or treatments to combat them, or they could be exacerbated by climate change or antibiotic-resistant superbugs. They include the pathogen groups behind illnesses like mpox, coronavirus, norovirus (or the winter vomiting bug), the flu, gonorrhoea, Ebola, Zika, Lassa fever, and Nipah virus, which is mainly spread by fruit bats and can cause brain swelling. Related How EU countries compare on readiness for the next health crisis Eight of these pathogen families are at high or medium risk of causing a pandemic, the agency said. While there are vaccines and treatments available for some of them, many are still in clinical trials. UKHSA officials called for more research and investment to keep the pathogens from spiralling into a bigger problem. "We hope this will help to speed up vaccine and diagnostics development where it is most needed, to ensure we are fully prepared in our fight against potentially deadly pathogens," Dr Isabel Oliver, the UKHSA's chief scientific officer, said in a statement. Related EU's medicine stockpiling strategy challenged by national security concerns Pathogen list 'a double edge sword' Independent experts said the list could help streamline the UK's efforts to prepare for looming infectious disease threats. It follows an update from the World Health Organization (WHO) last year that named 33 "priority pathogens" as pandemic-level risks. However, Jose Vazquez-Boland, chair of infectious diseases at the University of Edinburgh, warned that the priority list could be a 'double-edged sword,' raising attention to high-risk pathogens but potentially undercutting research on those that did not make the cut. Related How well are countries in Europe dealing with health issues? New report shows progress is stagnating Meanwhile, Emma Thomson, who directs the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, urged the UKHSA to regularly update the priority list when new risks appear. "It is essential that this list remains dynamic and responsive to emerging threats," Thomson said in a statement. "History has shown that pandemic risks can arise from unexpected sources".
Al Jazeera
27-02-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Mystery disease kills more than 50 in DRC: What we know so far
A mysterious viral disease has emerged in parts of western Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in recent weeks, resulting in at least 53 deaths, officials say. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), clinicians are particularly concerned about the short period between the onset of what appear to be symptoms of a 'hemorrhagic fever' and death – around just 48 hours – prompting fears that there could be a high number of deaths if the outbreak continues. This is the latest viral epidemic to hit the East African region in the past year, following outbreaks of Marburg and mpox diseases among others. The DRC, in particular, is susceptible to epidemics because of its tropical climate, in which pathogens thrive, as well as its dense forests which expose people to wildlife likely to carry diseases. Many viral diseases in the country, and elsewhere, have also been linked to consumption of the meat of wild animals. Here's what we know about the latest viral threat: Where has the new virus been detected? The new virus was first detected in January, in a remote village called Boloko, in DRC's Equateur Province. It occurred in three children who had eaten a dead bat, according to WHO. All three of the children, aged under five years old, died within 48 hours of presenting symptoms including fever, chills and headaches, between January 10 and 13. Four more deaths were recorded in the same village among children between the ages of five and 18, all with similar symptoms, in late January. One death, on January 22, was recorded in the nearby village of Danda. On February 9, a second outbreak of the disease was recorded in Bomate, a separate town some distance away. By February 15, 431 cases had been recorded with 53 deaths in total according to WHO (PDF), which said the fatality rate was 10.7 percent. About half of the deaths were recorded within 48 hours of the symptoms' onset. What are the symptoms of the new virus? According to the WHO, symptoms of the disease suggest it belongs to a group of diseases called viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF), meaning they cause excessive sickness and blood loss. Recognised examples of such diseases include Ebola, Lassa fever and Marburg virus. Symptoms recorded so far of the unknown disease in the DRC include fever, chills, headache, body aches, sweating, runny nose, neck stiffness, cough, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps. What do we know about the causes and nature of the new disease? According to WHO, it's not clear exactly what the cause of the disease is, or how the virus is transmitted. No clear link between the two outbreak points has been established yet. In a report, WHO said the lack of an obvious connection between the two hotspots could 'suggest two separate health events'. Major concerns, according to WHO, are that a 'severe infectious or toxic agent' – that is, a naturally occurring virus – could be involved, and that the disease so far presents with an 'exceptionally high' fatality rate. 'Key challenges [also] include the rapid progression of the disease, with nearly half of the deaths occurring within 48 hours of symptom onset in one of the affected health zones, and an exceptionally high case fatality rate in another,' WHO said. How have authorities responded? Earlier in February, the country's National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa tested samples from 12 active cases, and from one deceased person. Test results have ruled out similar hemorrhagic diseases such as Ebola and Marburg virus. Testing and contact tracing are continuing in affected locations by teams of local staff and WHO officials. However, the remoteness of the two hotspots, as well as limited lab capacity and generally weak healthcare infrastructure in the DRC could see the disease spread further, the WHO warned. Meanwhile, isolation rooms have been set up in some villages in the region, and health workers are going to communities to brief people about the new disease. What do experts say about the new disease? Some health experts have said they suspect the viral disease could be zoonotic – a disease which spreads from animals to humans – because of the reports of children eating a bat, which are known to carry viruses which can be deadly for humans. In the past, viruses such as Ebola and Marburg have struck human beings who have eaten infected bats. Until the new disease can be identified, it is difficult to know how easily humans will be able to fight it off, Dr Zania Stamataki, an associate professor in viral immunology at the University of Birmingham, told the UK's Science Media Centre. 'If the infection originated from a virus that came from a bat, this tells us that it is unlikely that we have pre-existing immunity to this new infection for humans, so we are unprotected [and] we suffer severe disease and even death,' Stamataki said. '[But] if the virus is similar to other viruses infecting humans – like the COVID-causing virus was similar to some common cold coronaviruses – some people may stand a chance to show less severe symptoms and recover,' she added. Why is the DRC particularly vulnerable to the spread of disease? The country is currently in the grips of an armed conflict in the Eastern Kivu Province led by the rebel M23 group, which recently captured the key towns of Goma (January 27) and Bukavu (February 14). Violence there has already devastated the region's healthcare infrastructure and has caused massive displacement in recent months. Hospitals are overwhelmed and aid workers have also been attacked. Which other diseases have hit the region recently? Mpox Presently, an mpox outbreak is also ongoing in the region. DRC health officials and the WHO expressed concern about the high rate of fatalities – 4.9 percent – last June, as well as about a new, more infectious variant discovered in Kamituga, South Kivu Province, in August. Between November 25 and January 5, more than 2,400 cases of the disease and five deaths were reported. Since the start of the outbreak, DRC had reported a total of 11,834 cases and 1,304 deaths by February 23, according to the Africa Center for Disease Control. Recent shipments of mpox vaccines from Western donors such as the United States, Japan and the European Union enabled officials to provide vaccines to at least 50,000 people by December. It's unclear how many vaccines are needed to cover the country's 105 million population. The virus has also spread to neighbouring Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya, although in lower numbers. Malaria In December, the WHO reported that a newly identified, severe case of malaria had caused 48 deaths within three months in Panzi, southern Kwango Province. That outbreak is ongoing. Sudan virus Meanwhile, Uganda has newly recorded cases of the Sudan virus (in the same family as the Ebola virus). Nine cases and one death have been confirmed since January 30. Marburg virus Tanzania is facing an outbreak of Marburg virus, in the northwest Kagera District. Since January, 10 cases have been reported including two confirmed and eight probable cases. All have resulted in death.
