{"id":94212,"date":"2020-12-09T14:19:30","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T20:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=94212"},"modified":"2020-12-09T14:19:30","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T20:19:30","slug":"human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Don&#8217;t blame the bats: Human activities increase pandemic risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Carlyn Kranking<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Medill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Some of the largest pandemics in history, including HIV\/AIDS, Ebola and COVID-19, started in animals and then passed to humans. For the last century, about <a href=\"https:\/\/science.sciencemag.org\/content\/369\/6502\/379\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">two viruses per year<\/a> have passed, or &#8220;spilled over,&#8221; from animals to people.<\/p>\n<p>These diseases are known as &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/onehealth\/basics\/zoonotic-diseases.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">zoonotic<\/a>.&#8221; But just because they come from animals doesn&#8217;t mean it&#8217;s the animals at fault. Human activity is making it easier for zoonotic diseases to spread. As people destroy habitats, transport live animals to market, raise large numbers of livestock in close confinement and change Earth&#8217;s climate, it brings animal populations and their infections closer to humans.<\/p>\n<p>This infographic explains these four &#8220;drivers&#8221; of pandemics and offers potential solutions to help limit the risk of pandemics in the future.<\/p>\n\n<!-- iframe plugin v.6.0 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/e.infogram.com\/6f4c7e26-33d1-4424-ad71-dc9d25ecbbf3?src=embed\" title=\"Zoonotic Disease &amp;amp;quot;Drivers&amp;amp;quot; &amp;amp;amp; Possible Solutions\" width=\"700\" height=\"5050\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" class=\"iframe-class\"><\/iframe>\n\n<p><em>Carlyn Kranking covers health, environment and science at Medill. You can follow her on Twitter at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/carlyn_kranking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@carlyn_kranking<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Carlyn Kranking Medill Reports Some of the largest pandemics in history, including HIV\/AIDS, Ebola and COVID-19, started in animals and then passed to humans. For the last century, about two viruses per year have passed, or &#8220;spilled over,&#8221; from animals to people. These diseases are known as &#8220;zoonotic.&#8221; But just because they come from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":703,"featured_media":94215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5029,5045,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid-19","category-fall-2020","category-health-and-science"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Don&#039;t blame the bats: Human activities increase pandemic risk - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don&#039;t blame the bats: Human activities increase pandemic risk - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Carlyn Kranking Medill Reports Some of the largest pandemics in history, including HIV\/AIDS, Ebola and COVID-19, started in animals and then passed to humans. For the last century, about two viruses per year have passed, or &#8220;spilled over,&#8221; from animals to people. These diseases are known as &#8220;zoonotic.&#8221; But just because they come from [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-09T20:19:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/DSC_0892.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carlyn Kranking\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carlyn Kranking\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/\",\"name\":\"Don't blame the bats: Human activities increase pandemic risk - Medill Reports Chicago\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/DSC_0892.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-09T20:19:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/162bec5e97f6c213bc7f7eefe57b32ae\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/DSC_0892.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/DSC_0892.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Bats are one animal that\u2019s known for spreading disease to humans, and COVID-19 is believed to have spread from bats. But ultimately, animals like bats aren't at fault for pandemics, as it's human activity that's driving our society closer to animals. (Carlyn Kranking\/MEDILL)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Don&#8217;t blame the bats: Human activities increase pandemic risk\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\",\"name\":\"Medill Reports Chicago\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/162bec5e97f6c213bc7f7eefe57b32ae\",\"name\":\"Carlyn Kranking\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9500bfeb1c19499d9c25516091e25e17b09f4a5822c59d610dc5db4b1e265c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9500bfeb1c19499d9c25516091e25e17b09f4a5822c59d610dc5db4b1e265c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Carlyn Kranking\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/carlynkranking2021\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Don't blame the bats: Human activities increase pandemic risk - Medill Reports Chicago","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Don't blame the bats: Human activities increase pandemic risk - Medill Reports Chicago","og_description":"By Carlyn Kranking Medill Reports Some of the largest pandemics in history, including HIV\/AIDS, Ebola and COVID-19, started in animals and then passed to humans. For the last century, about two viruses per year have passed, or &#8220;spilled over,&#8221; from animals to people. These diseases are known as &#8220;zoonotic.&#8221; But just because they come from [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/","og_site_name":"Medill Reports Chicago","article_published_time":"2020-12-09T20:19:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/DSC_0892.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Carlyn Kranking","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Carlyn Kranking","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/","name":"Don't blame the bats: Human activities increase pandemic risk - Medill Reports Chicago","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/DSC_0892.jpg","datePublished":"2020-12-09T20:19:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/162bec5e97f6c213bc7f7eefe57b32ae"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/DSC_0892.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/DSC_0892.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Bats are one animal that\u2019s known for spreading disease to humans, and COVID-19 is believed to have spread from bats. But ultimately, animals like bats aren't at fault for pandemics, as it's human activity that's driving our society closer to animals. (Carlyn Kranking\/MEDILL)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/human-activities-increase-pandemic-risk\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Don&#8217;t blame the bats: Human activities increase pandemic risk"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/","name":"Medill Reports Chicago","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/162bec5e97f6c213bc7f7eefe57b32ae","name":"Carlyn Kranking","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9500bfeb1c19499d9c25516091e25e17b09f4a5822c59d610dc5db4b1e265c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9500bfeb1c19499d9c25516091e25e17b09f4a5822c59d610dc5db4b1e265c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Carlyn Kranking"},"url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/carlynkranking2021\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/703"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94212"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94235,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94212\/revisions\/94235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}