Livestock diseases passed from animals to humans are on the rise, says a UN report.
The Frontiers report says the rise of livestock diseases transmitted between animals and people cause 60 per cent of all human infectious diseases.
The report was released last week by the United Nations Environment Programme during the science policy forum at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi.
It says the rise is closely linked to human activities that encroach on natural habitats and how it enables pathogens in wildlife reservoirs to spread more easily to livestock and humans.
“Recent years have seen the emergence of several zoonotic diseases, including Ebola, bird flu, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Rift Valley fever and Zika virus disease. The pathogens that cause these diseases have wildlife reservoirs that serve as their long-term hosts,” the report says.
“In the last two decades, emerging diseases have had direct costs of more than $100 billion (Sh10 trillion). If these outbreaks had become human pandemics, the losses would have amounted to several trillion dollars.” Zoonotic diseases will be a key issue at the second session of the United Nations Environment Assembly starting today at UNEP.
The UN report also identifies and highlights how climate change is increasing the toxicity of crops, the threat to human health posed by the alarming amount of plastic waste in the oceans and the crucial role the world’s financial sector can play in ensuring a low-carbon and resource-efficient future.
