Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the world’s population has bought into the idea that we are being attacked by foreign viruses coming from animals while we are just passive victims.
However what if we, as humans, are the ones causing the pandemic surge? What if the true narrative of pandemics isn't about animals and their pathogens attacking our human environment, but about our intrusion into theirs? Let's analyze this by studying Ebola.
West Africa. It’s an area that includes Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. Civil wars that took place in this area, throughout the 1990’s, forced civilians out of their homeland and into the forest that once covered where the three regions meet. The refugees started cutting the trees down to provide space for houses, farming, et cetera. Which brings us to Meliandou, Guinea. Researchers believe that this village was the location of the first known case of Ebola virus, in 2013. Like the rest of the region, this village also used to be a forest. And a natural habitat for wild bats.
On December 26th, Emile, a young boy, became ill with a fever and passed away after being exposed to a fluid contaminated by a bat carrying Ebola. Just eight days after his death, his three-year-old sister, Philomena, also died. Tragically, their mother, Sia, succumbed to the disease on January 11th, followed by their grandmother, Koumba, three days later at a hospital in the nearby town of Guéckédou. Researchers suggest that the funerals of these family members played a significant role in the virus's rapid spread through Guinea and into neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone.
As humans keep building and living in places where animals used to be, the chances of outbreaks like Ebola are increasing. When we take over their homes, it's easier for diseases from animals to spread to us. The areas where we're moving into animal territory are the most likely spots for the next pandemic. Scientists can help by conducting active surveillance in those places where it’s most likely to occur as they know how an outbreak is caused.
As humans, we also need to understand that as we take over more and more of the planet, there’s a cost. Not only to the animals that live there but also to us.
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