As the world becomes accustomed to living with COVID-19, is there a chance that more pandemics will make an appearance in the future? Here's everything you need to know:
Research has shown that many human pandemics originated with animals. This applies to HIV, smallpox, tuberculosis, Ebola, and COVID-19, to name a few. However, there is a biological process that needs to occur for a disease to transition from an animal to a human, and before it can spread among humans, according to the National Library of Medicine.
These are called zoonotic diseases, which are diseases caused by germs spread between animals and humans. They can spread in multiple ways, according to the CDC. This includes direct contact, indirect contact (through a vector like a mosquito or tick), through food, and through water. The diseases that come from each of these types are handled differently; however, all of them are likely to increase because of climate change.
