People have been blaming bats for the sudden spread of the new coronavirus worldwide. But for some scientists, these animals are innocent, and the main reason the world suffers from the effects of COVID-19 is human behavior. Initial research suggested that bats are a potential source of the new coronavirus. They could have carried the virus, but zoologists and disease experts agreed that humans started the pandemic by altering the environment. It is important to know that scientists have not yet confirmed where the coronavirus originated. It is not the first time that bats have been linked to the disease, as they also carried some viruses in the past that are very similar to the causes of COVID-19, CNN reported. With studies still ongoing to find the actual source of the coronavirus, it is clear to some experts that humans are the reason why the new coronavirus has moved from bat communities to many parts of the world. Human activities, such as deforestation and transportation, begin the process called "zoonotic overflow". "The underlying causes of the zoonotic spread of bats or other wildlife have almost always, always, been shown to be human behavior," Andrew Cunningham, professor of wildlife epidemiology at the London Zoological Society, told CNN. "Human activities are causing this." Destruction of natural habitat and hunting cause stress to bats, damaging the animal's immune system. In Wuhan, China, where the COVID-19 pandemic began, scientists linked the first case of infection to a wet local market that sold wild animals such as delicacies or pets."We think the impact of stress on bats would be very similar to that of people," said Cunningham. "It would allow infections to increase and be excreted, to be eliminated. You can think that if people are stressed and have the cold sore virus, they will get a cold sore. That is the virus that is 'expressed'. . "Zoonotic spread can spread disease quickly and cause global problems in weeks. This is due to human access to transportation, allowing movement from one place to another. Human activities cause both stress on animals and the rapid transmission of the virus from wildlife when traveling to places. People are "very well connected," according to Kate Jones, president of ecology and biodiversity at University College London. Astonham and Jones expressed that damage to the environment can also harm humans. Experts warned that without changes in human behavior to protect the planet, diseases like COVID-19 or worse may reoccur in the future. Zoologists and disease experts agreed that humans, not bats, started the COVID-19 pandemic due to activities that altered the environment and wildlife. Pixabay. [TagsToTranslate] covid-19

Visit link:
Experts say you should stop blaming bats for the COVID-19 pandemic - NewsDio