deforestation

A cut tree stands in a burned area in Prainha, Para state, Brazil. A U.N. report says habitat loss is leading to more animal-to-human transmission of disease.

U.N. Predicts Rise In Diseases That Jump From Animals To Humans Due To Habitat Loss

Scott Neuman

Zoonotic pathogens, which include not only COVID-19 but HIV/AIDS and Ebola, have increasingly emerged because of stresses humans have placed on animal habitats, according to a United Nations report.

The closer humans are to animals, the greater the opportunity for zoonotic spillover, where a pathogen jumps from animal to human.

NPR Health

'Like Poking a Beehive': The Worrisome Link Between Deforestation And Disease

Nathan Rott

Scientists say accelerating deforestation and development may increase the risk of pandemic diseases. The current economic crisis may also make that trend worse if more people cut down trees for fuel.

Several studies suggest that deforestation, like the one we see here in the middle of the southwestern jungle in Colombia, could increase opportunities for viruses and pathogens to jump from animals to humans.

Health News Florida

New Study Says Deforestation Could Help Viruses Jump From Animals To Humans, Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Leslie Ovalle

Over the past two decades, scientists have suggested that deforestation increases the chances that viruses and other pathogens will jump from wild...