1. Zoonotic pathogens and parasites transmitted from vertebrates to humans are a
major public health risk with high associated global economic costs. The spread of
these diseases accelerates with anthropogenic land-use changes (LUC), like
deforestation, urbanisation and agriculture, factors that are expected to increase in the
...
1. Zoonotic pathogens and parasites transmitted from vertebrates to humans are a
major public health risk with high associated global economic costs. The spread of
these diseases accelerates with anthropogenic land-use changes (LUC), like
deforestation, urbanisation and agriculture, factors that are expected to increase in the
future due to human population expansion and increasing demands for resources.
2. We systematically review the literature on anthropogenic LUC and zoonotic diseases,
highlighting the most prominent mammalian reservoirs and pathogens, analysing trends
in publications and identifying avenues for future research.
3. The number of publications increased over the past three decades. The majority of
studies were global reviews that did not focus on specific taxa. South America and Asia
were the most studied regions. The most studied mammalian taxa were rodents,
livestock and carnivores, while the most studied LUC was urbanisation. Associations
were identified between hosts and type of LUC, and hosts and pathogens.
4. Research into specific animal reservoirs has improved our understanding of how
zoonotic diseases spread with LUC. Host behaviour can be altered when their habitats
are changed, which in turn impacts the pathogens they carry and the probability of
disease spread to humans. Understanding this has enabled the identification of factors
that would alter the risk of emergence, like virulence, pathogen diversity or ease of
transmission, and the pathogens most likely to emerge, though many pathogens have
not been studied yet.
5. Predicting how zoonotic diseases emerge and spread in response to anthropogenic
LUC requires more empirical and data synthesis studies that link host ecology and
responses to LUC with pathogen ecology and disease spread. The link between
anthropogenic impacts on the natural environment and the recent COVID-19 outbreak
highlights the urgent need to understand how anthropogenic LUC affects the risk of
spillover and spread of mammalian zoonotic diseases