Abstract
Zoonotic emerging diseases (ZEDs) are increasing and may deeply impact human wellbeing, but our recent survey of public opinion in six European countries (n = 2415 participants) suggests a low concern among Europeans about the risk associated with ZEDs. This contrasts with Europeans’ high awareness of climate change risks, which was confirmed by our survey. Given the increasing risk of ZEDs, it is therefore essential to increase Europeans’ awareness of their impacts. In addition, our study suggests that Europeans may be more likely to support sustainable environmental policies that would reduce the risk associated with ZEDs, consequently improving the human wellbeing.
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Data Availability
Data are available on reasoned request from the authors.
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Acknowledgements
Dr. F. Dalerum, C. Sanström and Lisa Lehnen kindly helped to review the translations of the questionnaire. R. Villafuerte-Jordán kindly helped with the design of some images used in the questionnaire. The comments of two anonymous reviewers greatly improved the paper. This study was funded by Project RTI2018-096348-R-C21/C22 (MCI/AEI/FEDER, UE).
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All procedures were performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the CSIC ethics committee (certificate 020/2021), and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Delibes-Mateos, M., Glikman, J.A., Arroyo, B. et al. Low Level of Concern Among European Society About Zoonotic Diseases. EcoHealth 20, 138–143 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-023-01649-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-023-01649-4