Have artificial lighting and noise pollution caused zoonosis and the COVID-19 pandemic? A review
Where did the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) come from? Did it spread to ‘patient zero’ through proactive human-animal contact? Why did humans faced an increasing number of zoonotic diseases in the past few decades? In this article, we propose a new theory by which huma...
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Springer International Publishing
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8325529/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34366755 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01291-y |
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author | He, Shanshan Shao, Wenyuan Han, Jie |
author_facet | He, Shanshan Shao, Wenyuan Han, Jie |
author_sort | He, Shanshan |
collection | PubMed |
description | Where did the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) come from? Did it spread to ‘patient zero’ through proactive human-animal contact? Why did humans faced an increasing number of zoonotic diseases in the past few decades? In this article, we propose a new theory by which human pollution such as artificial lighting and noise accentuate pathogen shedding from bats and other wild habitants in urban environments. This theory differs from the current hypothesis that wildlife trades and bushmeat consumption largely contribute to the spillover of zoonotic pathogens to humans. As natural reservoirs, bats harbor the greatest number of zoonotic viruses among all mammalian orders, while they also have a unique immune system to maintain functioning. Some bat species roost in proximity with human settlements, including urban communities and surrounding areas that are potentially most impacted by anthropogenic activities. We review the behavioral changes of wild habitants, including bats and other species, caused by environmental pollution such as artificial lighting and noise pollution, with focus on the spillover of zoonotic pathogens to humans. We found that there is a strong positive correlation between environmental stress and the behavior and health conditions of wild species, including bats. Specifically, artificial lighting attracts insectivorous bats to congregate around streetlights, resulting in changes in their diets and improved likelihood of close contact with humans and animals. Moreover, many bat species avoid lit areas by expending more energies on commuting and foraging. Noise pollution has similar effects on bat behavior. Bats exposed to chronic noise pollution have weakened immune functions, increased viral shedding, and declined immunity during pregnancy, lactation, and vulnerable periods due to noised-induced stress. Other wild species exposed to artificial lighting and noise pollution also show stress-induced behaviors and deteriorated health. Overall, evidence supports our hypothesis that artificial lighting and noise pollution have been overlooked as long-term contributors to the spillover of zoonotic pathogens to humans in urban environments. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8325529 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | Springer International Publishing |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-83255292021-08-02 Have artificial lighting and noise pollution caused zoonosis and the COVID-19 pandemic? A review He, Shanshan Shao, Wenyuan Han, Jie Environ Chem Lett Review Where did the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) come from? Did it spread to ‘patient zero’ through proactive human-animal contact? Why did humans faced an increasing number of zoonotic diseases in the past few decades? In this article, we propose a new theory by which human pollution such as artificial lighting and noise accentuate pathogen shedding from bats and other wild habitants in urban environments. This theory differs from the current hypothesis that wildlife trades and bushmeat consumption largely contribute to the spillover of zoonotic pathogens to humans. As natural reservoirs, bats harbor the greatest number of zoonotic viruses among all mammalian orders, while they also have a unique immune system to maintain functioning. Some bat species roost in proximity with human settlements, including urban communities and surrounding areas that are potentially most impacted by anthropogenic activities. We review the behavioral changes of wild habitants, including bats and other species, caused by environmental pollution such as artificial lighting and noise pollution, with focus on the spillover of zoonotic pathogens to humans. We found that there is a strong positive correlation between environmental stress and the behavior and health conditions of wild species, including bats. Specifically, artificial lighting attracts insectivorous bats to congregate around streetlights, resulting in changes in their diets and improved likelihood of close contact with humans and animals. Moreover, many bat species avoid lit areas by expending more energies on commuting and foraging. Noise pollution has similar effects on bat behavior. Bats exposed to chronic noise pollution have weakened immune functions, increased viral shedding, and declined immunity during pregnancy, lactation, and vulnerable periods due to noised-induced stress. Other wild species exposed to artificial lighting and noise pollution also show stress-induced behaviors and deteriorated health. Overall, evidence supports our hypothesis that artificial lighting and noise pollution have been overlooked as long-term contributors to the spillover of zoonotic pathogens to humans in urban environments. Springer International Publishing 2021-07-31 2021 /pmc/articles/PMC8325529/ /pubmed/34366755 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01291-y Text en © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. |
spellingShingle | Review He, Shanshan Shao, Wenyuan Han, Jie Have artificial lighting and noise pollution caused zoonosis and the COVID-19 pandemic? A review |
title | Have artificial lighting and noise pollution caused zoonosis and the COVID-19 pandemic? A review |
title_full | Have artificial lighting and noise pollution caused zoonosis and the COVID-19 pandemic? A review |
title_fullStr | Have artificial lighting and noise pollution caused zoonosis and the COVID-19 pandemic? A review |
title_full_unstemmed | Have artificial lighting and noise pollution caused zoonosis and the COVID-19 pandemic? A review |
title_short | Have artificial lighting and noise pollution caused zoonosis and the COVID-19 pandemic? A review |
title_sort | have artificial lighting and noise pollution caused zoonosis and the covid-19 pandemic? a review |
topic | Review |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8325529/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34366755 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01291-y |
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