[Contribution] Supporting biodiversity for human and wildlife coexistence

One of the most pressing issues which should be solved for the future generation of our country is disease response.

From Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2002 to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in 2015, COVID-19 in 2020 and the most recent mpox the significance of such diseases is that wildlife is the source and they are crossing species barriers through diverse routes.

Each disease was proven or presumed to have been transmitted to humans by wildlife: SARS originated from bats and spread to musk cats; MERS spread from bats to camels; COVID-19 was transmitted from bats to pangolins; and mpox came from lab monkeys.

In the journal Nature, it was revealed that 60 percent of new forms of diseases are zoonotic, with 72 percent of those diseases originating from wild animals in 2008.

These kinds of scenarios arise when wild animals look for new home after being evicted by impulsive human development. As a result, humans, livestock and wildlife began to share habitats, aggravating the risk of sharing diseases.

This may be demonstrated as an outcome of multiple research and analyses and it is exemplified by avian influenza.

The National Institute of Wildlife Disease Control and Prevention in Korea is focusing on the disease control and prevention. Avian influenza, also referred to as bird flu, is an acute viral disease carried by wild birds and fowls.

Bird flu is frequently introduced and spreads when migratory birds travel across continents, along with many different of additional viral infections.

As a consequence of a mutation in highly pathogenic avian influenza, direct contact infection between mammals and birds is on the rise these days.

Last March, nearly 3,500 sea lions were infected to HPAI (H5N1) and perished in Peru, while human casualties were occurred in Ecuador and Cambodia in January and February.

As preventative measures in response to global outbreaks, the National Institute of Wildlife Disease Control and Prevention is conducting a screening of the infectious situation regarding avian influenza in mammals from the beginning of March. The lesson from the avian influenza outbreak is that we must anticipate infectious diseases since wildlife, livestock, and humans are more closely intertwined than ever.

It is indispensable to supporting biodiversity by conserving ecosystems for wild animals with restrictions on unlawful collecting and irresponsible development.

Shin Dong-in is the president of the National Institute of Wildlife Disease Control and Prevention under the Ministry of Environment. The views expressed in this article are his own. -- Ed.