Table of Contents
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- A zoonotic disease is a disease that spreads between animals and people.
- They can be caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi.
- Important Zoonotic diseases in India are: Nipah virus, avian influenza, rabies, Japanese encephalitis, Hanta virus, SARS, anthrax, plague etc –The recent upsurge has often been attributed to the dramatic increase in population, mobility and the associated social and environmental changes in the past 70 years. –Habitat destruction forces many species to move towards human settlements
- Extinction of one species leads to a cascading effect that may increase the population of reservoir species.
- Forest clearing for agriculture leads to expansion of ecotones (transition zones between adjacent ecological systems) and overlapping environment for wild and domesticated animals increasing chances of transmission of diseases.
- The geographic range of many diseases like chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and dengue virus are increasing due to effects of climate change
STEPS
- Since, there are no vaccine available for many zoonotic diseases, there needs to be adoption and awareness generation of preventive measures.
- Habitat conservation should be given priority to prevent deforestation and fragmentation of forests.
- Intensification of agriculture and livestock farming near wild animals should be regulated.
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