Whether—and, more importantly, when—the next pandemic will emerge remains the million-dollar question. While most of us hope it never happens, events aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius last month, involving the relatively low-risk hantavirus, served as a reminder that an invisible pathogen can still disrupt lives and trigger global concern.
Experts agree on one point: pandemics are not a thing of the past. They have occurred throughout history and will almost certainly occur again. Yet viruses and bacteria are not the only culprits. Scientists increasingly point to environmental destruction—largely driven by human activity—as a critical factor in the equation.
“When we kill wild animals or confine them for illegal wildlife trade, we disrupt ecosystems and separate viruses from their natural hosts,” explains Roula Trigou, a forestry and environmental specialist at the Greek Ornithological Society. Once that balance is broken, pathogens seek new hosts—and humans often become the next target.
The figures are striking. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly three-quarters of new or emerging infectious diseases affecting humans originate in animals.
Importantly, however, wildlife is not to blame. Scientists stress that wild and “exotic” animals are not reservoirs of deadly pathogens waiting to infect people. Most microbes coexist harmlessly with their hosts. The real problem lies in the way humans increasingly encroach on natural habitats through deforestation, urban expansion and industrial development, creating unprecedented opportunities for pathogens to cross into human populations.
In Greece, although tropical rainforests are absent, remote mountains, islets and gorges still provide vital refuges for wildlife. Expanding infrastructure into these areas fragments ecosystems and reduces the natural distance between people and wild animals, increasing the likelihood of contact with potentially harmful pathogens.
Among the threats attracting the greatest attention today is avian influenza H5N1. First detected in a goose in China in 1996, the virus has evolved significantly, spreading beyond poultry to wild birds and various mammals. Human-to-human transmission has not yet occurred, but scientists warn that such a development may not be far off.
Coronaviruses circulating in bat populations remain another major concern, while mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya are expanding their reach as climate change alters mosquito habitats. Looming over all of them is the prospect of “Disease X”—the World Health Organization’s term for an as-yet-unknown pathogen capable of triggering the next global health crisis.
