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i thought humans are just another animal. why the surprise about diseases jumping from other animals to humans
by ptah 7y ago
i thought humans are just another animal. why the surprise about diseases jumping from other animals to humans
- klmr 7y agoThere’s no surprise, zoonotic viruses are well known. That said, viruses are usually highly adapted to a specific host. Jumping host species isn’t trivial, and the mechanisms for how this happens are worth exploring.
- jacquesm 7y agoThe bulk of our diseases are zoonotic in nature. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoonosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoonosis Has the figure at 61%.
- robbrown451 7y agoSure, but here is a key line from the Wikipedia article you reference: "Most human diseases originated in other animals; however, only diseases that routinely involve non-human to human transmission, such as rabies, are considered direct zoonosis" You aren't going to catch the current coronavirus from your dog.
- jacquesm 7y agoTrue. But you could catch Rabies.
- Symmetry 7y agoBut usually zoonotic diseases are especially deadly since killing the host is not in a parasites best interest but new diseases haven't worked out an equilibrium with the victim species yet. https://aeon.co/essays/when-bacteria-kill-us-it-s-more-accident-than-assassination https://aeon.co/essays/when-bacteria-kill-us-it-s-more-accid...
- maxerickson 7y agoWhere are you seeing surprise?
- robbrown451 7y agoThe word "animal" is often used to mean "non-human animal." Context is key. I bet your locality has an Animal Control department, and you understand from context that it referes to non-human animals. Jumping species tends to be a rare event with regard to diseases. But it is an important event, hence the article.