85 2 Earth under pressure With a rise in global temperature, mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, zika and dengue fever may spread to new regions. Climate change also forces people to move into overcrowded cities with bad infrastructure, poor sanitation and insufficient health care services. Last but not least, human activity is invading animal habitats. The danger of this is that it increases the chances of the transmission of a zoonosis – an infectious disease that jumps from animal to human. Most scientists agree that the coronavirus was a zoonosis. Also, the trafficking of exotic species can lead to the spread of infectious diseases. There are serious consequences to human activity in the 21st century. The coronavirus pandemic showed us what can happen if we put too much pressure on wildlife and nature. With an unknown number of viruses in nature that can make us sick, it would be wise to preserve and protect animals and their habitats – and to rethink how we live. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause respiratory infections. The coronavirus got its name from its looks: it has a spiky crown, corona in Latin. overcrowded – yfirfullt/ of fjölmennt poor – lélegt sanitation – hreinlæti insufficient – ófullnægjandi health care services – heilbrigðisþjónusta transmission – smit a zoonosis – sjúkdómur sem berst frá dýrum til manna to preserve – varðveita
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