American and South African scientists estimated that global warming will increase, by 2070, by 4 thousand times the transmission of viruses between different species of mammals. And this spread favors these pathogens to reach humans, which increases the risk of overbreaks and epidemics. The data were published in the scientific journal Nature. “As the temperature rises, many species must change theirs. habitat and look for more suitable climates. Under these conditions, animals that have never met before begin to live together, increasing the likelihood of virus exchange between them – which also increases the likelihood that some of these viruses will reach us ”, explains microbiologist Natália Pasternak, president of Institute of Science.

To arrive at this worrying finding, the researchers cataloged information from 3,139 species of mammals and their movements in the face of global warming and land use. Bats would be the main responsible for this transmission between species. “This ecological transition may already be taking place, and keeping the planet’s warming below 2 degrees by the end of the century will not reduce this viral spread,” write the authors in the article. It would therefore be necessary to tighten up measures against climate change and adopt other strategies, which we will mention below. Also according to the document, today there are about 10,000 types of viruses that can infect humans, but which are currently practically restricted to other mammals. This exchange of viruses between species is something that has always happened, but at a slower speed. And with each leap that these microbes take from one animal to another, they can undergo mutations that would eventually facilitate infection in humans.  Source: Global warming increases virus transmission between different animals – Mágica Mistura を