'Deadly Dozen' Reports Diseases Worsened By Climate Change

[amyrose2712]

Deadly Dozen' Reports Diseases Worsened By Climate Change

ScienceDaily (Oct. 8, 2008) — Health experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society have released a report that lists 12 pathogens that could spread into new regions as a result of climate change, with potential impacts to both human and wildlife health and global economies. Called The Deadly Dozen: Wildlife Diseases in the Age of Climate Change, the new report provides examples of diseases that could spread as a result of changes in temperatures and precipitation levels.

The best defense, according to the report's authors, is a good offense in the form of wildlife monitoring to detect how these diseases are moving so health professionals can learn and prepare to mitigate their impact.

"The term 'climate change' conjures images of melting ice caps and rising sea levels that threaten coastal cities and nations, but just as important is how increasing temperatures and fluctuating precipitation levels will change the distribution of dangerous pathogens," said Dr. Steven E. Sanderson, President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society. "The health of wild animals is tightly linked to the ecosystems in which they live and influenced by the environment surrounding them, and even minor disturbances can have far reaching consequences on what diseases they might encounter and transmit as climate changes. Monitoring wildlife health will help us predict where those trouble spots will occur and plan how to prepare."

The "Deadly Dozen" list—including such diseases as avian influenza, Ebola, cholera, and tuberculosis—is illustrative only of the broad range of infectious diseases that threaten humans and animals.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081007073928.htm

[TZ]

1. Oh yes

I'm surprised that list didn't include two that have started showing up in the US on a regular basis: malaria and dengue fever...This is why research on these diseases are relevant (I used to work on malaria vaccine and you'd be surprised by the number of poeple I heard complain about spending US money on a largely "foreign" diseas!!):banghead:

[aquart]

2. My doctor said she's been treating whooping cough in adults.

[TZ]

4. Thats actually not an exotic disease per se.

It has to do with people not vaccinating their children, and the fact that it looks like the Pertussis vaccine needs a booster as an adult. I would urge all healthy adults to get a DPT vaccine booster.

[EmilyAnne]

3. Absolutely. There are so many repercussions to this. And, as usual, it will be the poor who

suffer the most.
The rich can crank up the AC, sponge up all the water and have the best medical care in the world. No skin off their privileged asses.

Thanks for posting this link!