Despite historical attempts to eliminate diseases, experts now suggest focusing on control and coexistence.
Joanna Thompson reports for Undark.
In short:
- Many diseases, like Lyme and malaria, cannot be eradicated due to their complex ecologies involving multiple hosts and vectors.
- Recent efforts focus on prevention, like using narrow-spectrum antibiotics in natural reservoirs and developing gene-edited mosquitos.
- Historical efforts to eradicate diseases, such as the Soviet campaign against plague, have largely failed and shifted to containment strategies.
Key quote:
"Shifting our resources — which are limited — to prevention and surveillance is the only way to go."
— Susan Jones, ecologist and historian at the University of Minnesota
Why this matters:
Understanding the complexity of zoonotic diseases indicates a need for sustainable prevention strategies rather than eradication. Read more: Cutting forests and disturbing natural habitats increases our risk of wildlife diseases.
