Future Pandemics to Emerge Often and Spread More Rapidly

Future pandemics will arise more often, spread more rapidly, and damage the world economy, says a new report.

Future pandemics will kill more people than coronavirus unless there is a transformative shift in the global strategy to dealing with infectious diseases, the experts added.

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In the report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in Germany, the experts admit that escaping the era of pandemics is likely, but this will need a huge change in approach from reaction to prevention.

COVID-19 is at least the 6th global health pandemic after the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918. Although it has its origins in microbes transmitted by animals, human activities have entirely driven its emergence, like all pandemics, the IPBES report said.

The experts stressed that pandemic risk could be significantly lowered by reducing the human activities that drive biodiversity loss by greater conservation of protected areas and measures that reduce unsustainable exploitation of high biodiversity regions.

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The overlapping symptoms of dengue and COVID-19 infection makes it difficult to distinguish between the two. Besides, a lack of a vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for both diseases makes dengue a double whammy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This will decrease wildlife-livestock-human contact and help prevent the spillover of new diseases.

The report also offers several policy options that would help to decrease and address pandemic risk.

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Impacts of COVID-19 infection on diabetic children will depend on the blood glucose level control. If left uncontrolled, diabetes can severely weaken the immune system due to high blood sugar levels, which makes it harder to treat viral infections like COVID-19 and thus complicates the condition.

"The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of science and expertise to inform policy and decision-making," stated study author Anne Larigauderie, Executive Secretary of IPBES.

Source-Medindia

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