Human–Animal Interface and Sociocultural Ecology of Zoonotic Disease Outbreaks in Anthropocene China

Abstract

This chapter is a case study of role of human–wildlife interface in precipitating the spread of infectious diseases. Approximately three-quarters of all infectious diseases are of wildlife origin and potentially zoonotic. Pandemics such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), avian influenza, and swine flu are examples that clearly illustrate the adverse consequences of the incursion of humans into wilderness and/or inappropriate human–animal interactions. Although the role of human–animal interface in predicting emergent zoonosis is well documented, little attention has been paid to the sociocultural and policy dimensions of zoonosis. Drawing on zoonotic outbreaks in China, this chapter examines the cultural and behavioral milieu in which human consumption of wildlife species takes place, and how this contributes to the pathogenic crises in China with anthropogenic consequences worldwide. The chapter then discusses the global discourse of One World One Health, a collaborative effort at local, national, and global levels to improve the health of our ecosystem and presents how the discourse has been translated into the local level in China and wider Asia in light of emerging zoonotic disease outbreaks. The chapter concludes with suggestions for sociocultural and behavioral changes and policy development for healthier human–animal ecosystem.