Coronavirus: world that treats symptoms, not the cause of pandemics, says UN.

The industrial farming of animals, specifically pigs and chickens, is one of the main risks for the future spread of zoonotic diseases, experts say.

The world is addressing the economic and health symptoms of the coronavirus pandemic, but not the environmental cause, according to the authors of a UN report. As a result, a steady stream of disease could jump from animals to humans in the coming years, they say.

The number of these “zoonotic” epidemics is increasing, from Ebola to Sars, West Nile virus and Rift Valley fever, with the main cause being the destruction of nature by humans and the growing demand for meat, says the report.

Even before Covid-19, 2 million people died from zoonotic diseases every year, mostly in the poorest countries. The coronavirus outbreak was highly predictable, experts said. "[Covid-19] may be the worst, but it's not the first," said UN environment chief Inger Andersen.

The biggest economic costs fall to rich countries - $$ 9 billion for Covid-19 in two years, according to the IMF's chief economist. This makes a very good case for investing in countries where diseases arise, say the authors.

The report said a "one health" approach that unites human, animal and environmental health is vital, including much more surveillance and research into disease threats and the food systems that bring them to people.

“There has been so much response to Covid-19, but much of it has treated it as a medical challenge or an economic shock,” said Professor Delia Grace, lead author of the report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the International Institute of Livestock Research (ILRI).

“But their origins are in the environment, food systems and animal health. It's like having someone sick and only treating the symptoms and not treating the underlying cause, and there are many other zoonotic diseases with pandemic potential. ”

“A massive increase in human activity is affecting the environment across the planet, from growing human settlements to [food production] to the rise of mining industries,” said Doreen Robinson, head of wildlife at UNEP. “This human activity is breaking down the natural buffer that protected people from various pathogens. It is extremely important to discover the root causes, otherwise we will be consistently reacting to things. ”

"The science is clear that if we continue to exploit wildlife and destroy our ecosystems, we can expect a steady stream of these diseases jumping from animals to humans in the coming years," Andersen said.

Wild animals and livestock are the source of most viruses that infect humans, and the report cites a range of factors causing outbreaks, including rising demand for animal protein, more intensive and unsustainable agriculture, increased exploitation of wildlife, growing global travel and the climate crisis. He also says that many farmers, regions and nations are reluctant to declare outbreaks for fear of hurting trade.

"The main risks to the future spread of zoonotic diseases are the deforestation of tropical environments and the industrial raising of animals on a large scale, specifically pigs and chickens at high density," says disease ecologist Thomas Gillespie of Emory University in the US. , an expert reviewer on the report. “We are in a moment of crisis. If we don't radically change our attitudes toward the natural world, things are going to get much, much worse. What we are experiencing now will seem mild in comparison. ”

The report highlights some examples of where zoonotic risks are being managed. In Uganda, deaths from Rift Valley fever were reduced by using satellite data to anticipate heavy rainfall events, which can produce mosquito swarms and trigger outbreaks.

The report is the latest warning that governments must address the destruction of the natural world to prevent future pandemics. In June, a leading economist and the UN said the coronavirus pandemic was an "SOS signal for human enterprise", while in April, the world's leading biodiversity experts said more outbreaks of deadly diseases were likely unless that nature was protected.