Lecture 6. Emerging Infectious Diseases - Zoonoses and the Environment

Question 1

Where has human growth been largest in the last 200 years?

Answer 1

Asia

Question 2

What is the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII)?

Answer 2

Estimates how much originally present biodiversity remains on average across the terrestrial ecological communities within a region

Question 3

What do wildlife species with reducing populations owing to exploitation and loss of habitat share more of with humans?

Answer 3

Viruses

Question 4

What does encroachment into the habitats of wild species bring them into contact with?

Answer 4

Humans, pets and farmed animals

Question 5

What is a zoonosis?

Answer 5

Any disease or infection that is naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans

Question 6

What is it called when a disease from an animal is transmitted to a human?

Answer 6

A ‘spillover’ event

Question 7

What animals are reservoirs of influenzas in humans?

Answer 7

Birds

Question 8

What animals are reservoirs of HIV in humans?

Answer 8

Primates

Question 9

What animals are reservoirs of rabies, ebola and coronaviruses in humans?

Answer 9

Bats

Question 10

What viruses are bats the host of?

Answer 10

Ebola, Rabies, Chikungunya, etc.

Question 11

What is the average number of coronaviruses per species in bats?

Answer 11

2.67, extrapolated to 3204 coronaviruses across the 1,200 bat species

Question 12

What causes HIV in humans?

Answer 12

Two lentiviruses, human immunodeficiency viruses type 1 and 2

Question 13

What resulted in HIV being in humans?

Answer 13

Multiple cross-species transmissions of simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs) naturally occurring in African primates

Question 14

What are the natural reservoir of infection of Ebola?

Answer 14

Fruit bats

Question 15

What is the death rate of Ebola?

Answer 15

40%

Question 16

What is the R0 for Ebola?

Answer 16

1.5-2.5

Question 17

How did Ebola enter human population?

Answer 17

Frequent ‘spillover’ events from wild species populations

Question 18

What is a reservoir for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)?

Answer 18

Dromedary camels (crossed from bats)

Question 19

Why are camels required to stop the spread of MERS?

Answer 19

Required for persistence as human to human transmission is low

Question 20

How many cases of MERS has there been since 2012?

Answer 20

2,500

Question 21

What is the death rate of MERS?

Answer 21

35%

Question 22

What were the list of top emerging diseases likely to cause major epidemics published by the WHO in 2015?

Answer 22

1. Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever
2. Filovirus diseases (i.e. EVD & Marburg)
3. Highly pathogenic emerging Coronaviruses relevant to humans (MERS & SARS)
4. Lassa Fever
5. Nipah
6. Rift Valley Fever