Wild animals affected by unusual pathologies

Millions of bats died in the United States from white nose syndrome triggered by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans . Or, rather, triggered by the man who unknowingly carries it along with shoes, clothes or other contaminated objects. 

An anomalous form of scabies that in the last 15 years has affected foxes, llamas and other wild mammals in Chile , manifesting itself with the loss of their characteristic hair. 

The Amur tigers, splendid Siberian mammals already at risk of extinction for some time due to the merciless hunting of poachers, now also threatened by canine distemper. 

A severe and painful dermatitis , first identified after Hurricane Katrina in 2015, which proved fatal to numerous dolphins along the coasts of Australia , South America and the United States. 

Internationally, there is an increase in diseases affecting wildlife , confirms epidemiologist Diego Montecino of the Wildlife Conservation Society, interviewed by El País . 

Now that media attention is monopolized by the coronavirus pandemic with its toll worsening by the hour, such news is likely to take a back seat. Still, they are different sides of the same coin.

We have broken the balance with nature

We are now familiar with the concept of spillover , the ” species leap ” with which the coronavirus passed from animal to man, as had already happened with Sars, Ebola and even HIV. With a very similar process, wild animals are infected by domestic animals , or by humans who carry pathogens with them.  

These unprecedented – and dangerous – contacts occur when wild animals are forced to move due to the destruction of their habitats by humans. Or due to climate changes that manifest themselves in the form of floods, cyclones, droughts, fires. 

At other times, pathogens frozen for centuries are released into the environment as the ice melts . If you add to these elements also the overpopulated urban areas where humans and animals live together in unhealthy conditions, such as the infamous markets of Wuhan, you get a potentially ruinous cocktail.

One health, there is only one health

From all these considerations it is clear that the health of the planet, human health and animal health are inextricably linked. And they must therefore be taken on board with a unitary approach. This is what the World Health Organization has been repeating for some time , supported by countless scientific researches.

Wildlife , however, is still the major absentee from health policies expressed by states and international organizations. The complaint comes from the pages of a recent report by the IUCN , International Union for the Conservation of Nature . 

Faced with an epidemic affecting wildlife – argues the IUCN – first of all, a capillary monitoring action is needed to reconstruct its causes, dynamics and consequences.

After that, it is necessary to stop considering wild animals as a risk factor (an approach which, in many cases, justified their suppression): as already explained, in fact, the risk, if anything, comes from human intrusion.

Finally , we need to shift the focus from treatment to prevention , aware of the fact that it is not “only” the health of a single species at stake, but the equilibrium of a system to which we all belong.  

Problems of this caliber cannot be left to self-financed environmental organizations alone, recalls Cristóbal Briceño, professor at the University of Chile. Governments must assume their responsibilities, collect and make available all health data (relating to people, animals and ecosystems) and intervene with an integrated approach .