Q&A: Why Animals are a Scourge in the Fight Against COVID-19
The coronavirus pandemic has had a substantial impact on humans and our environment. With the emergence of the virus originating from animals, many have been asking, why are some animals a scourge?
To provide some answers to this question, we interviewed Dr. Jennifer Anderson, a veterinarian and research professor at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Anderson is a leading expert in the field of animal-borne diseases.
Dr. Anderson believes that the emergence of animal-borne diseases is due to a variety of factors. She explains, “In the case of SARS-CoV-2, it is thought that the virus originated in bats and then spread to humans through an intermediary animal, such as a pangolin. This is because the virus most closely resembles other viruses found in bats, and the close contact between humans and these animals likely facilitated the spread of the virus. In other cases, like Lyme disease, the environment plays a larger role, as the ticks that spread the disease thrive in certain climates and habitats.”
source: Phys.org