Epidemia

According to a new study published in Nature, the loss of biodiversity is the main environmental cause of infectious disease epidemics, which become more dangerous and widespread.In what is called a 'meta-analysis' in technical jargon, the researchers found that of all the 'factors of global change', species loss was the most important in increasing the risk of epidemics.Climate change follows, chemical pollution and the introduction of non-native species.Urbanization was instead associated with a decrease in risk, this is because urban areas tend to host fewer wild animals and to have better sanitation infrastructures compared to rural environments.The experts they analyzed 2,938 observations of infectious disease responses to drivers of global change in 1,497 host-parasite combinations, covering every continent except Antarctica. Interest in zoonoses, diseases caused by agents transmitted directly or indirectly from other animals to humans, has increased after the Covid19 pand...