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City growth favours animals 'more likely to carry disease'
Aug 5, 2020
Turning wild spaces into farmland and cities has created more opportunities for animal diseases to cross into humans, scientists have warned.
Our transformation of the natural landscape drives out many wild animals, but favours species more likely to carry diseases, a study suggests.
The work adds to growing evidence that exploitation of nature fuels pandemics.
Scientists estimate that three out of every four new emerging infectious diseases come from animals.
The study shows that, worldwide, we have shaped the landscape in a way that has favoured species that are more likely to carry infectious diseases.
And when we convert natural habitats to farms, pastures and urban spaces, we inadvertently increase the probability of pathogens crossing from animals to humans.
"Our findings show that the animals that remain in more human-dominated environments are those that are more likely to carry infectious diseases that can make people sick," said Rory Gibb of University College London (UCL).
How can modifying the landscape cause disease?
The transformation of forests, grasslands and deserts into cities, suburbs and farmland has pushed many wild animals towards extinction.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption More than half of the world's habitable land has been modified by humans
Short-lived animals that can survive in most environments, such as rats and pigeons, have thrived at the expense of long-lived animals such as rhinos, which have specialised habitat requirements.
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