The transmission of diseases from animals to humans is not a new phenomenon. However, in recent years, there have been increasing instances where animals are passing viruses, bacteria, and parasites to humans.
 |
| Due to globalization, deteriorating environmental conditions, many animals can become dangerous sources of disease. In the image, a boy is playing with his dog (Photo: puplife) |
Experts from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the United States believe that this is just the beginning of a long journey ahead. More new diseases will emerge, causing increasingly severe damage. This is attributed to the processes of globalization, declining ecological conditions, and humans increasingly coming into close contact with various animal species.
Moreover, many animal species that have historically not lived closely with humans are now being domesticated. Exotic animals from Asia are now appearing on the dining tables of Europeans.
The modern structure of the food production industry leads to situations where outbreaks among livestock can threaten the lives and health of hundreds of thousands of people.
Climate change alters the habitats of migratory birds and insects (such as mosquitoes). They carry pathogens far and wide. Changes in the living environment of both humans and animals also modify how different pathogens exert their effects.
Laurie Garrett, author of the book The Coming Plague, suggests that until the pathogens affecting animals have infected humans, it is impossible to gauge the scale of a potential pandemic, and no one can predict it.
Below are 14 major diseases that humans contract from animals:
1- AIDS. Humans contract the HIV virus from primates living in Central Africa. Nearly 24 million people have died from this disease.
2- Acute Respiratory Infection. This disease may have been transmitted to humans from civets. The outbreak has affected thousands of people, with hundreds dying.
3- Dengue Fever. The pathogen for this disease is spread by mosquitoes. The first outbreaks occurred in the 1950s in Thailand and the Philippines. By the 1970s, the disease had spread to 9 countries, and currently, sporadic outbreaks occur in 100 countries.
4- Ebola Fever. There is a hypothesis that humans contracted this virus from primates. The disease is transmitted through direct contact with the blood and secretions of infected individuals. In the 1970s, an outbreak of Ebola in Sudan claimed 90% of those infected.
5- Yellow Fever. Humans acquire the virus causing this disease from primates in Central Africa. Mosquitoes are the disease vectors. The first cases of yellow fever were recorded nearly 400 years ago. A vaccine for yellow fever has been developed for the past 60 years.
6- West Nile Fever.
 |
| Mosquitoes – the intermediary vectors of disease (Photo: health) |
Humans are infected with the virus from birds through mosquitoes. This fever is dangerous due to its high mortality rate. Cases have been recorded not only in Africa but also in Asia, Europe, and North America.
7- Malaria. The malaria pathogen is transmitted to humans through bites from Anopheles mosquitoes. Nearly 300 million people contract malaria each year, with one million deaths.
8- Lyme Disease. Humans contract the bacteria causing this disease from deer and rodents. Symptoms resemble those of the flu, but the disease presents more severely and can lead to arthritis. In the 1970s, it was first identified in a town of the same name in the United States, hence the name.
9- Smallpox. Humans contracted this disease from camels. Smallpox has been known for over 3000 years and was a leading cause of child mortality for a long time. Many historical figures, such as Peter the Great of Russia and King Louis XV of France, were victims of smallpox. According to historians, by the end of the 19th century, nearly 50 million people contracted smallpox each year, with a mortality rate exceeding 30%. The last case of smallpox occurred in 1977.
10- Monkeypox. Humans contract this disease from golden mice. Cases were reported in late May last year in the United States. This disease progresses similarly to ordinary smallpox but is milder and has not been fatal.
11- Plague. Humans contract this disease from rats and other rodents. The pathogen is transmitted through bites. The first plague outbreak occurred in the 6th century in Byzantium, resulting in nearly 100 million deaths over 50 years. In the 14th century, the Eastern plague claimed about one-third of the population in Asia and Europe. The third global plague outbreak occurred in the late 19th century, affecting over 100 ports worldwide. In 1999, it re-emerged in 14 countries, primarily in Africa, with over 2,600 cases and 212 fatalities.
12- Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (commonly known as mad cow disease). Humans contract this from cattle. There have been sporadic fatal cases worldwide due to consuming beef containing the infectious agent that affects the brain. Cases of mad cow disease have occurred in various countries. This disease has cost European agriculture approximately $60-120 billion.
13- Encephalitis. Humans acquire the encephalitis pathogen from rodents and birds. Mosquitoes and ticks are also vectors carrying the virus. Each year, 100,000 to 200,000 people contract various forms of encephalitis, with 10,000 to 15,000 fatalities.
14- Salmonella Infection. Humans contract this from cattle, pigs, goats, ducks, and geese through eggs and food contaminated with live salmonella bacteria. There have also been fatal cases due to this bacterial infection.
