Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-6-2022
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Croft Institute for International Studies
First Advisor
John Sonnett
Second Advisor
Peter Thilly
Third Advisor
Gang Guo
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Human activity and behavior, animal consumption and exploitation, and environmental degradation all impact the planet and those living on it. Each can contribute to the creation of favorable conditions in which pathogenic transmission can easily occur, resulting in an increase in infectious disease emergence. Through the One Health concept, an understanding of how human, animal, and environmental health are connected can help reduce these conditions in which infectious diseases can emerge and spread. However, despite being an established concept, the One Health is not widely known or implemented. Even in a country, such as China, that has a large population, substantial pollution and land use change, and a historically established practice of wildlife consumption, this concept is still in its early stages. Thus, by analyzing Chinese news media sources, it can be observed how the public reports and discusses these connections between human-environmental interaction and infectious disease emergence. After evaluating three Chinese news media sources, ranging in size and audience, it was found that the One Health concept is not reported. As for the components of the concept, the public consistently recognize the connections between animal and human health, but not environmental health. While there are a multitude of factors that explain this lack of recognition in Chinese media, the limited reporting of the interconnectedness of animals, humans, and the environment simply reveals the importance of the One Health concept in global health.
Recommended Citation
Newman, Kai-Shin, "How Chinese Media Reports on Infectious Disease Emergence and Human Environmental Interactions" (2022). Honors Theses. 2613.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2613
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