Below an extract of an interesting article by the senior vice president and provost at the University of Oklahoma that was published today.
“The human disease pool is a product of
ecology and evolution. There are some 300-400 major identified species of human
pathogens. Compared with
chimpanzees, our closest surviving relative, humanity’s germs are numerous,
nasty, and unusually focused on exploiting us. The distinct human
disease pool is a result of our distinct history—of the particular ways that we
as a species have reshaped ecological conditions on Earth and made ourselves an
unusually attractive target as a host for microbial parasites…For example, the
reason humans have so many gastrointestinal diseases is because, about 12,000
years ago, we started living in permanent agglomerated settlements and were
therefore surrounded by our own waste, not to mention the waste of our animals,
which are full of pathogens transmitted by the fecal-oral route. The reason
humans have so many respiratory diseases is because we have the massive
population numbers and sheer density to support pathogens whose strategy is to
pass from lung to lung….The
Anthropocene has been facilitated and defined by humanity’s efforts to
disinfect the planet—to make it comfortably habitable for humans. We
live in highly artificial environments that are, more than we usually pause to
think, constructed precisely to keep our germs at bay. Our built environments,
our management of food and water and waste, our physical routines and chemical
regimes—all are anti-pathogenic. This pattern creates intense countervailing
pressures. The global population is sprinting toward 8 billion. We encroach
more than ever on the natural habitats and wild animals that are the reservoir
of potential source of new diseases. We are more interconnected than ever. The
interface between our species and our possible parasites is wider than at any
time in the human past. The
incentive for microbes to exploit humans has never been greater, yet our
tools to combat them are more powerful than ever…The new virus has just the
right properties to exploit our vulnerabilities. It is a respiratory virus with
a long incubation period, insidious transmission, and asymptomatic carriage. It
is highly contagious. We had no vaccine ready. It is the pandemic we deserve—not morally but
ecologically.https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/06/coronavirus-is-accelerating-history-past-the-breaking-point/
