Thedisappearance of all kinds of species, from bacteria to mammals, represents athreat to human health, as it increases the appearance and transmission of infectious diseases, according to a study published by the journalNature.
American experts have highlighted a connection between biodiversity and human health by showing that the loss of species in ecosystems such as forests and jungles translates into an increase in pathogenic organisms. The researchers explain that the animals, plants and microbes that tend to disappear when biodiversity is destroyed are usually those that buffer thetransmission of infectious diseases such as Nile virus, Lyme disease or hantavirus.
Specifically, in cases such as Lyme disease, which can be transmitted to humans through ticks carried by certain animals, its incidence is higher in ecosystems where biodiversity has been reduced. The researchers say that in places where there are intact communities of opossums, the rate of transmission of this disease to humans is reduced, because ticks are not able to survive in these animals. If the presence of these mammals decreases, the possibility of contagion increases.
? We knew of specific cases where a decline in biodiversity increased the incidence of disease, but we have found that this pattern is much more general. That setback increases the transmission of a wide range of infectious systems ?, says Felicia Keesing, professor of ecology at Bard College in New York and co-author of the study. we do not know the direct links in the chain of disease transmission, “adds Drew Harvell, an expert in ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University.
