Zoonotic Diseases, Epidemics, & Pandemics

Introduction

Epidemics are diseases that affect many people at the same time within a community, while pandemics are diseases that have spread across entire countries or even the world according to Dictionary.com.

Transmissible Disease Origins

The problem is that most of these diseases originate in animals that were either farmed or captured from the wild.

"Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. The animal source of the new type of virus has not been identified." and "There have been several epidemics stemming from animal sources in recent history." 2

Zoonotic diseases include:

Obviously this is not a full list, but as we continue to cut down forests and poach animals for food (animals who would otherwise have remained untouched by humans), we raise our chances for massive outbreaks. 


Perhaps more worrying is that livestock outnumber both wildlife by mass and humans in number, plus most livestock are raised in factory farms or feedlots, which raises their chances of contracting diseases, and stresses them so that their immune systems are less robust. 


Making these numbers even more concerning is the fact that according to one study 73% of the world's antibiotics are going to these animals as a "therapeutic" doses to encourage faster growth, and that this practice has led to a dramatic increase in antibiotic resistance


One particularly worrying study found that:


"In reviewing data from the Netherlands, a team of Hopkins and Dutch scientists found that the odds of being exposed to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, are greatest in the southeast region of that European country, an area with many livestock farms. The risks were not limited to the farmers themselves, but were also elevated for people living near herds of cattle, pigs or veal calves, the researchers said.


MRSA most commonly causes skin infections, but it can also produce pneumonia or more severe and potentially life-threatening infections in the bloodstream and at surgical sites. While in the past believed to be mainly a problem in hospitals and other health care facilities, more cases are turning up in non-health settings. More than 40 percent of the MRSA cases in the Netherlands have been associated with livestock, according to the study.


After factoring out farmers and other people in direct contact with farm animals, researchers found the odds of someone being exposed to the strain of MRSA associated with livestock were nearly 25 percent greater if they lived near pigs and 77 percent higher if near cattle.


While the study looked at MRSA exposures in relation to herds of pigs, cows and veal calves, Feingold said it may also be worth looking to see if similar patterns turn up in areas with intensive poultry production, such as the Delmarva Peninsula. Dutch researchers have found chickens to be a reservoir for MRSA as well, she said, though not as frequently as with livestock."


This means that as antibiotics become less effective, there will be even greater danger as emerging diseases are more likely to start out with antimicrobial resistant traits making them even harder to stop or slow down in future outbreaks.

Resources

Reducing Antibiotic & Antimicrobial Use in the Food Industry


General Food Industry Information


Societal Costs of Antibiotics in Food Production

Outbreaks & Their Origins

Chronic Wasting Disease - > Human Version of Mad Cow Disease

Chronic wasting disease appears to transmit to humans when their meat is consumed. Deer hunters who often ate infected dear suffered rapid-onset of Sporadic CJD  (the human version of mad cow disease). These people became confused, violent, and died shortly after, despite aggressive treatment. Study: Hunters Die After Consuming CWD-Infected Venison 

Legal Changes

Help change laws regarding our food systems. 

One study determined that through regulations we could limit the risks of antimicrobial resistance by "either by reducing the quantity of antimicrobial used per animal or the number of animals that we raise for food." and that through regulations "... putting a cap of 50 mg of antimicrobials per PCU per year, the current global average amount, could reduce total consumption by 64%" while "Limiting meat intake worldwide to 40 g/day—the equivalent of one standard fast-food burger per person—could reduce global consumption of antimicrobials in food animals by 66%" and "Imposing a user fee of 50% of the current price on veterinary antimicrobials could reduce global consumption by 31%"1

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