Worldcoronaviras (WCV) is a mutated form of the coronavirus that has caused major global respiratory disease outbreaks since 2018. The virus causes pneumonia, heart disease and death.
WCVs can spread through contact with respiratory secretions, like saliva or mucus, from an infected person. They can also be transferred from contaminated surfaces, such as doorknobs and countertops.
Impact on Human Health
Worldcoronaviras (WCVs) are highly contagious diseases that can cause serious respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia, bronchitis and death. They also can trigger chronic hepatitis infections and neurological disorders such as meningitis.
These viruses have a significant impact on human health, particularly in developing countries where they can cause severe, life-threatening illness. They have caused many deaths worldwide and are a major threat to healthcare services.
WCVs can be spread from person to person through contact with respiratory secretions and blood droplets. They can also be transmitted through contact with contaminated surfaces, such as doorknobs or counters.
The virus can also be passed from pregnant women to their infants during pregnancy or childbirth, causing a variety of problems including congenital defects.
A global coronavirus pandemic would have a huge economic impact on affected countries, with many cases of severe disease and up to 1 million fatalities. It would also have a significant impact on travel industries and the hospitality sector.
Impact on Wildlife
Many of the same factors that are affecting people’s health are impacting wildlife, and in some cases, those effects may even be negative. This is especially true for species that rely on human food sources like gulls, rats or monkeys.
These animals, which can scavenge for spilled foods or leftover takeaways from rubbish bins, may have reduced their chances of finding these resources (Gortazar and de la Fuente 2020). This could result in starvation, lower breeding success and population declines for these creatures.
Fortunately, this pandemic presents an excellent opportunity for large-scale research into the impacts of human mobility and activity on wildlife and ecosystems. There is an urgent need for scientists from a range of fields to work together in a spirit of collaboration and open communication.
PTES is collaborating with its conservation partners across the globe to help ensure that the world’s most endangered species survive this crisis. For example, in Madagascar, our conservation partner SEED is working with local staff to replant green corridors between forest patches – vital habitat for lemurs whose populations have been fragmented by land-use change.
Impact on Ecosystem Health
In an era of environmental degradation and extinction, human-nature interactions are inextricably linked to human health. Loss of biodiversity and ecosystem integrity weakens health systems and changes our exposure to pathogens, as well as the availability of traditional medicines.
As global wildlife trade persists and mining and logging continue to expand, humans are increasing their exposure to wild animals and the diseases they carry. This can increase the risk of zoonotic disease outbreaks (e.g., coronaviruses, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, HIV and Ebola, monkeypox virus, avian influenza, and swine flu) through increased human contact and stress.
Degradation of wildlife habitats due to human activities, such as urban expansion and infrastructure development, agriculture and livestock farming, hydrological alteration, and natural resource extraction, has been found to influence zoonotic disease transmission dynamics through altered ecological community composition, population structure, vector ecology, host abundance, host behaviour, and immunity. These changes may also increase zoonotic disease spillover events, potentially through zoonotic pathogens infecting domestic livestock.
Impact on Society
The impact of worldcoronaviras on society is immense, from school closures to devastated industries and millions of jobs lost – the social and economic costs of the pandemic are huge. It’s threatening to widen inequalities everywhere, undermine progress on global poverty and clean energy and more.
The most vulnerable people are being hit hardest – homeless people, refugees and migrants who don’t have access to running water, for example. These people are more likely to contract the virus and to die from it.
We need to stop this damage from happening, through the use of tests, treatments and vaccines everywhere they’re needed. By doing this, we can protect human health and livelihoods, allowing people to recover from the pandemic and start building a more sustainable future.
