African Wildlife & Environment Issue 77 FINAL ISSUE

FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

epidemic that is spread over multiple countries or continents rather than just a large outbreak that is confined to a community, population, or region. In the realm of infectious diseases, a pandemic is the worst-case scenario. When an epidemic spread beyond a country’s borders, that is when the disease officially becomes a pandemic. It is most likely that COVID-19 originated in bats at the Wuhan market; however, it is also likely that it could have come from pangolins. The infection then spread like wildfire and the nature of the world as a 'global village', with air travel so accessible, meant that before many countries were even aware they had a problem, it was already too late. However, the world has had to deal with many pandemics historically, and it is a sobering reminder to remember some of these and their devastating consequences. The 'Black Death' pandemic in the mid-1300s was a Yersinia pesti s bacteria spread by rats and fleas, and 200 million people died. In 1885, what was known as the 'Third Plague', also caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria spread by rats and fleas, killed about 12 million people in China and India. In the period between 1918 and 1919 the H1N1 virus spread through pigs and became known as the 'Spanish Flu', killed between 40 and 50 million people. When HIV/AIDS was first diagnosed in 1981 it was clear that the virus had been transmitted through chimpanzees, and to date between 25 and 35 million have died from it. Then in 2002 to 2003 the SARS outbreak, which was a coronavirus spread by bats and civets, resulted in close on one million deaths. Since then the Ebola virus was spread through various wild animals and more recently MERS spread through bats and camels, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. An estimated 60 percent of known human diseases originated in animals, according to the World Organization for Animal Health. It is clear that with the persistence of disease and pandemics throughout history, there is one consistent trend over time, which is a gradual reduction in the death rate. Government research initiatives and healthcare improvements have helped scientists understand the factors that incubate pandemics enabling them to put measures in place to help mitigate their impact. Even with the COVID-19 pandemic the race is on to find a suitable vaccine, that could halt the rampant spread of the virus.

carrying wildlife, in addition to their excretions like spit, blood, and urine that contribute to the 'wet' prefix. According to the Centre for Disease Control in the USA, coronaviruses are common in both people and many different species of animals, including bats, cats, cattle, and camels. The stress on the animals and the close proximity of these market environments enables the virus to spread easily to animals and humans. Zoonoses typically end with humans, meaning we do not see transmission back to animals. However, in April 2020 a Malaysian tiger tested positive for COVID-19 at the Bronx Zoo, and other tigers and lions in that zoo have also tested positive. A similar transmission has occurred in Hong Kong and New York City, where multiple dogs and cats have tested positive following their owners' diagnoses. This new development raises questions regarding human ability to transfer the virus to animals, especially the susceptibility of other domestic animals such as livestock, upon whom people rely for food. The battle against the trafficking of wildlife has escalated in the last decade, and the blatant display of live and dead animals in the wildlife markets in the eastern countries as well as in Africa, have led to this latest pandemic. A pandemic is an

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