Epidemics have been happening for as long as there have been people living on Earth.

[diamondcutter]

An epidemic is the name given to an infectious disease that rapidly spreads to a large number of people within a short period of time—usually two weeks or less. Epidemics have been happening for as long as there have been people living on Earth. They can be caused by several different factors, such as a virus being carried into an area, or changes in the way people live, like more people living in an area, which increases the chances of them coming into contact with a bacteria or virus.
Source: English, Book 3, 2019 edition, a textbook for senior high school students in China, Pearson Education and Beijing Normal University Press

Epidemics have been happening for as long as there have been people living on Earth.
1. Does the sentence above mean this?
Epidemics have been happening since the beginning of life on Earth.

2. Do you think “for as long as there have been people living on Earth” is unnecessarily complicated?

 

[Barque]

1. Does the sentence above mean this?
Epidemics have been happening since the beginning of life on Earth.

No. Life doesn't mean just human life. There was life on earth before humans appeared. The article talks about epidemics among humans, so it obviously refers to the start of human life.

2. Do you think “for as long as there have been people living on Earth” is unnecessarily complicated?

It could have been shorter but it isn't "unnecessarily complicated".

 

[diamondcutter]

Thanks, Barque.
I have two more questions.

1. Epidemics have been happening for as long as there have been people living on Earth.
Do you think the word "living" is unnecessary?

2. ...or changes in the way people live, like more people living in an area...
Does "like more people living in an area" mean this?
"for example, more people who lives in an area"

 

[probus]

1. Quite unnecessary, yes.

2. Yes. But note that your example has a small grammatical error. It should read "...who live in an area."