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New research has confirmed that Sars-Cov-2 is genetically closely related to coronaviruses in bat populations, and specifically rinolofus bats, and pangolins may have been intermediate hosts in transmission to humans.
Such pandemics will be more likely and the risks of contagion from dangerous viruses are increasing even as the Covid-19 outbreak is stopping the world.
Dr. Pranav Pandit, a veterinary epidemiologist at the One Health Institute at the University of California Davis, said there is scientific evidence linking deforestation, rapid urbanization and climate change to pandemics like Covid-19, which offer clues as to how they can be prevent pandemics.
Excerpts from an email interview:
Q. Is there scientific evidence on the natural origin of Sars-Cov-2?
A. Epidemiologically speaking, the latest evidence from an article in Nature published on May 7 points to a hypothesis that bats could harbor the Sars-Cov-2 phylogenetic ancestor virus. The most likely candidate is the “RaTG13 bat coronavirus” and Malaysian pangolins could be intermediate hosts. Sars-Cov-2’s previous relationship with the “RaTG13 bat coronavirus” was raised by the analysis by other documents as well.
Q. It is estimated that 60% of emerging human pathogens are zoonotic. Why has the threat of zoonotic diseases increased?
A. Surely there is an increase in emerging animal viruses. In the past five years, the world has seen large outbreaks of emerging zoonotic viruses, including the Zika virus, the Ebola virus, and now Sars-Cov-2. Overall, this is attributed to anthropogenic pressures we exert on environmental systems, including our recent study shows that exploitation of wildlife populations and habitat degradation are one of the important ecological divers behind the emergence of viruses. from wildlife to humans. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2019.2736
These rapid anthropogenic changes are animal-human interfaces where humans frequently come into contact with wild animals allowing viruses to evolve and jump into humans, leading to the emergence of a new virus. Some of our previous work has similar interpretations for a group of emerging viruses called flaviviruses (zika virus, yellow fever virus, dengue virus). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-07896-2
Q. Did scientists see a pandemic coming on this scale?
A. Because the world is more interconnected than ever through travel and trade, we are likely to see pandemics at an increasing rate. We look forward to changing the thinking of the pandemic response to pandemic prevention. The emergence of disease that occurs anywhere can affect us all, and we must understand the impact we have when interacting with wildlife, realize that the emergence of disease is an environmental problem, and find more sustainable ways to coexist.
Q. What is the link between deforestation and zoonoses?
A. We alter the landscape through deforestation, land conversion for the cultivation or raising of livestock, or the construction of communities, and this, in turn, alters the natural distribution of wildlife and increases the frequency e intensity of contact between humans and wildlife, creating the perfect conditions for the spread of viruses. Wildlife also changes its distribution to accommodate anthropogenic activities and the modification of the natural landscape. This has accelerated the emergence of wildlife diseases, putting us at risk for pandemics because we are all globally connected through travel and trade.
Q. Could certain communities of indigenous hunters have antibodies against these viruses?
A. Certainly, antibodies to some zoonotic viruses have been detected in certain tribal communities with no disease outbreak detected. This only means that those communities have only been exposed to those viruses or the like, since many times the serological response and tests are not very specific for a single virus. An example from a study in India is as follows https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0007733. Studies like these show that human-animal interactions lead to exposure of animal viruses to humans.
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