Article #2
A zoonotic disease is one that can be transferred from animal to human. Zoonotic diseases that are emerging and reemerging can be problematic. These diseases seem to be having more cases yearly due to the rise in global population. This in turn leads to more homes having to be built and encroaching on places that were before untouched, or because more livestock is needed, the more space needed to feed these animals makes them come in contact with animals they would not have previously. According to livescience.com it is estimated that 60% of human disease and 75% of emerging diseases are caused by zoonotic diseases, with most coming from livestock, such as pigs, cattle, and chicken. Many of these zoonotic diseases that are reemerging can be quite infectious and deadly. For example, the bubonic plague first started from fleas transported along the silk road, which then infected other animals and lead to 75 million deaths in the 14Th century. Ebola, which is thought to have been transferred from bats, killed 11,000 people from 2013-2016 and had a death rate of 90%. The problem with so many of the infectious diseases that are emerging, is that we probably don’t have a vaccine on hand to administer. This can cause problematic as we have seen recently with the COVID-19 virus. Due to how the disease spreads and our lack of vaccine, it makes it very difficult to stop the spread and isolate the people who are infected with the disease. This can cause many deaths while trying to develop a vaccine and even if there is a vaccine made, there probably will not be enough made to vaccinate everyone who needs it, resulting in more deaths but could stop the further spread of the disease. In some cultures they need to be close to the body for burial or in some countries, they are too poor to get medical care, so they try and care for the people themselves, only to contract the disease and spread it even further when they have to go out in public to get supplies. Some cultures do not trust doctors and do not listen to them, or they try and hide the ill person, so the community does not fear them. The answer to the question “Are we ready for a pandemic?” And the answer to that is no. Depending on what the disease is, if we already have a vaccine for it, then we will be better prepared in stopping the spread, but we don’t have enough vaccines to completely protect everyone. And if it is not a disease, we already have a vaccine for, it will make the situation much worse, causing much more harm than if we already had a vaccine for it. The best way to be effective is to try and prevent the diseases from occurring, educating people on cleanliness, and telling medical personnel quickly if you think something is wrong so that they can try and diagnose you as early and quickly as possible. The best way to deal with xenophobia is educating the public on where the disease is and who has it. Another way to not have people freaking out, is making sure the media reports the information correctly and does not sensationalize the stories to try and get views, because it would only end up making things worse.
Works cited
https://www.livescience.com/21426-global-zoonoses-diseases-hotspots.html
https://www.livescience.com/12951-10-infectious-diseases-ebola-plague-influenza.html