There’s a new field called “conservation medicine” that’s making the connection between ecosystem disturbances and the spread of new pathogens from wildlife to humans. Deforestation has caused animals to move closer to population centers, and also has pushed poorer villagers to expand the kinds of wildlife that they hunt. These pressures increase the interaction between animals and humans, spreading pathogens to both livestock and humans.
“In recent years, for instance, scientists have been ferreting out the connections between climate change and human health. They’ve found that spasms of cholera correlate with changing sea surface temperatures and that diarrhea outbreaks arrive as the mercury climbs. They’ve discovered associations between seasonal weather patterns and malaria that are so strong that outbreaks can be predicted with the weather forecast.”
Read more about this topic in this feature on Yale Environment 360.
