Module 3: Lesson 1
Introduction
A habitat sustains the needs of all things
living on it and that is food and shelter of
the animals. Habitat is very important
because it provides the animals with a
natural place where they can thrive and
it is very delicate because once it is
destroyed, it is very hard to take it back
to its original state and the things living
in it.
Humans, on the other hand, continue to
progress, and in doing so destroy the
natural habitat of animals, an example of
this is the rapid industrialization and
urbanization, and it is evident nowadays
that the effects of these “progress” are
affecting the environment, specifically
the place where animals live.
There is ample evidence that human
disruption of ecological systems is
changing the distribution of infectious
disease. Human health and the health
of the environment are intimately
connected.
Both are necessary to satisfy basic
human needs. The environment is a
key factor in determining the health of
people. At the same time, investments
in human health can help improve the
health of the environment and
Wildlife habitats are vital to
human survival and agricultural
production. But these natural
places and the plants and
animals that inhabit them face
increasing pressure from human
activity, leading to the
emergence of new animal-to-
human transmitted diseases like
COVID-19. This transfer, also
known as zoonosis.
Zoonosis
It occurs when an infection carried by an animal, like
a bat in the case of COVID-19, is transmissible to a
human. As humans continue to convert wildlife
habitats and encroach on them for hunting and
gathering purposes, they are setting themselves up
for the further spread of disease.
Vector- borne
diseases
-are those that are transmitted to
humans by mosquitoes, ticks, fleas
and animals. Vectors transmit
pathogens or causative agents such
as viruses, bacteria and protozoa.
In this table, shows the changes of
habitat and the density of disease-
related organisms.
Vectors and vector-borne
disease
Malaria
Malaria offers a good case study because of its high death toll and its
resistance to efforts at eradication and long-term prophylaxis. Malaria is
transmitted by a wide variety of location specific mosquito species within
the genus Anopheles. Many of the most pervasive types of land use
change, such as deforestation, dams, and agricultural development, affect
the density of different Anopheles vectors, leading to increased disease
transmission.
Examples of land use and
change in habitat and
the increased Malaria
transmission.
Deforestation
In deforested areas of the Peruvian Amazon,
biting rates of Anopheles darlingi are almost
300 times higher than in intact forest,
controlling for differences in human density
across varied landscapes. Similar association
have been observed in sub-Saharan Africa. In
Asia, deforestation favors some vectors over
others but frequently leads to increased
transmission.
Dams Microdams in northern Ethiopia increase the
concentration of the local Anopheles vector and are
associated with a sevenfold increase in malaria in
nearby villages.
Irrigation Projects
In India, irrigation projects in the
1990s improved breeding sites for
Anopheles culcifacies and led to
endemic "irrigation" malaria
among roughly 200 million
people.
Agricultural
development
In Thailand, both cassava and sugarcane cultivation
reduced the density of Anopheles dirus but created
widespread breeding rounds for Anopheles minimus,
with a result in surge in malaria.
Wetland drainage
In Uganda, the drainage and cultivation of
papyrus swamps caused higher ambient
temperatures and more Anopheles
gambiae individuals per household than
found in villages surrounding undisturbed
swamps.
Drivers of global environmental change (e.g., land-use change or
climate change) can directly pose health risks or impair
ecosystem services that subsequently influence health. For
hazards that affect human health, however, exposures will be
modified by multiple layers of social or infrastructure barriers that
can buffer or eliminate risk. Together, all components must be
considered to achieve realistic assessments of population
vulnerability.
Our challenge will be to work to mitigate environmental change and to
increase the resilience of populations to the impacts of any changes that
we are unable to mitigate. Along the way, there will be substantial
opportunities to identify co-benefits, whereby a single intervention can both
mitigate environmental threats
and improve human health. Addressing the health impacts of global
environmental change needs to be a priority for the public health
community, environmental scientists, and natural resource managers, as
well as for governments and intergovernmental bodies such as the United
Nations and multilateral development banks. What we need most are
political will and financial resources.
A schematic of the
complex relationships
between altered
environmental
conditions and human
health.
