The number of disease outbreaks transmitted from animals to humans in Africa has risen by more than 60% in the past decade, the World Health Organization said, a worrying sign the planet may face an increase in animals. The Associated Press (AP) reported that transmitted diseases such as monkeypox, Ebola and the coronavirus are in the future.
There was a 63% increase in the number of animal diseases breaching the species barrier from 2012 to 2022, compared to the previous decade, the United Nations Health Organization said in a statement Thursday.
There was a particular rise from 2019 to 2020, when diseases originating in animals and later infecting humans accounted for half of all significant public health events in Africa, the World Health Organization said. Diseases such as Ebola and other hemorrhagic fevers were responsible for 70% of those outbreaks, as well as diseases such as monkeypox, dengue fever, anthrax and plague.
“We must act now to contain zoonoses before they cause the spread of infection and prevent Africa from becoming a hot spot for emerging infectious diseases,” said WHO Director of Africa Dr. Machidiso Moeti, in a statement.
She said that while animal diseases have plagued humans for centuries in Africa, recent developments such as faster travel across the continent have made it easier for viruses to cross borders.
The World Health Organization also noted that Africa has the fastest population growth in the world, increasing urbanization and reducing roaming areas for wild animals. Scientists also fear that outbreaks that may have previously been contained in remote rural areas could now spread more quickly to major cities in Africa with international travel links, which may transmit diseases around the world.
During the Ebola outbreak in West Africa that began in 2014, its spread was explosive only after the disease reached capitals, eventually killing more than 10,000 people and reaching several cities in Europe and the United States.
Until May, monkeypox was not known to cause large outbreaks outside of Central and West Africa, where it has sickened people for decades. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are now more than 11,000 cases worldwide in 65 countries, most of which were previously unreported of monkeypox.
The World Health Organization has announced that it will hold an emergency meeting next week to assess whether monkeypox should be declared a global emergency. Last month, the agency said the outbreak had not yet justified the announcement, but said it would review issues such as the potential for monkeypox to infect more vulnerable populations such as children, and whether the virus causes more serious disease.
AOQ