Global Change and Zoonotic Disease Study Notes

Zoonosis Definition: An infectious disease that jumps from a non-human animal to humans.
Pathogen Types: Bacterial, viral, parasitic, or unconventional agents.
Transmission Routes: Direct contact, contact through food or water, and environmental exposure.
Impact: Represents a major public health challenge and causes disruptions to global trade and animal product production.

Human Pathogens: Approximately $1,400$ known human pathogens exist; $60\%$ of these are of animal origin.
Emergent Trends: Since $1945$ , $75\%$ of newly emerged diseases in people likely originated zoonotically.
Timeline of Major Outbreaks: Notable diseases include HIV, SARS, $H1N1$ , Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19.

Primary Driver: Land use changes are responsible for approximately $30\%$ of recently emerging infectious diseases.
Industry and Behavior Factors: * Food and agricultural industry changes. * International travel and commerce. * Human demographics, susceptibility, and behavior. * Medical and antimicrobial agent use.
Environmental Factors: Deforestation and climate change significantly increase the probability of novel disease emergence, particularly in high-risk tropical regions.

Living Planet Index (LPI): Measures the average decline in monitored wildlife populations relative to a $1970$ baseline ( $1970 = 100\%$ ). This includes data from $20,811$ populations of $4,392$ species.
Climate Trends: Global temperatures and $CO_2$ concentrations have risen steadily from $1880$ to $2000$ , with $CO_2$ surpassing $380\,ppm$ .
Ecosystem Services: Biodiversity supports four service categories: * Supporting: Photosynthesis, habitat, soil formation. * Provisioning: Food, water, medicine, raw materials. * Regulating: Climate regulation, pollination, flood control. * Cultural: Aesthetics, recreation, education, spirituality.

The "Double-Whammy": Urbanization and increased wealth drive demand for Animal Sourced Food (ASF).
Livestock Intensification: Leads to high pathogen burdens and the use of prophylactic antimicrobials, contributing to Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
Resource Exploitation: Incursion into natural ecosystems and the trade of domestic or "wild" bushmeat (regulated by CITES or uncontrolled) facilitates pathogen spillover.

What is the evidence for the zoonotic origin of COVID-19 and its crossing of the species barrier?
How can environmental management and the "One health" approach reduce zoonotic risk?
What are the risks associated with wildlife trade and bushmeat consumption?
Are there zoonotic risks within the UK wildlife exploitation sector?
Identify "reverse" zoonoses that pose a concern for conservation.