Clipping Board » Environmental Pollution & Change ─ How dirty the human heart is, how dirty the environment will be...
Update Date: 2008/10/09 04:09
[Compiled by Hu Lizong/Comprehensive Report]
Climate change caused by global warming not only affects food supply and water resource distribution but may also trigger large-scale outbreaks of certain diseases. A recent research report by the "Wildlife Conservation Society" (WCS) points out twelve diseases most likely to erupt due to climate change and calls on countries to quickly establish monitoring networks to preemptively respond to animal outbreaks and prevent human suffering.
This report, to be presented at the annual meeting of the "International Union for Conservation of Nature" (IUCN), identifies the "Twelve Deadly Diseases" as avian influenza, babesiosis, cholera, Ebola, parasites, Lyme disease, plague, red tides (algae), Rift Valley fever, sleeping sickness, tuberculosis, and yellow fever.
Steven Sanderson, the president of the society, noted that even minor climate changes can have profound effects on disease spread. While climate change often brings to mind melting icebergs or rising sea levels, changes in temperature and rainfall can also affect the spread of deadly pathogens. For example, warmer climates can allow germs or vectors to live longer, changes in rainfall patterns can increase the survival rate of pathogens and make them easier to spread, and changes in livestock patterns can increase contact between domesticated and wild animals.
Therefore, Sanderson recommends establishing a global early warning mechanism to prevent potential outbreaks.
Among the twelve deadly diseases, warmer climates can allow Vibrio cholerae to live longer, similarly extending the lifespan of the ticks that spread Lyme disease and babesiosis, and changes in bird migration patterns due to climate change can introduce avian influenza to new areas.
It is noteworthy that malaria, which is also affected by climate, was not included in this report because the virus strains that infect humans and animals are different.
The society also pointed out that similar early warning mechanisms have already been established in some countries and have shown certain effectiveness. For example, a monitoring network in Congo that includes hunters and forest gatherers has functioned well over the past three years, preventing outbreaks by avoiding the consumption of animals infected with the Ebola virus. Similar mechanisms in South American countries have preemptively vaccinated residents when animals have outbreaks of yellow fever, also preventing large-scale human infections.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 081009/ 78/ 17bud. html
Global Warming Intensifies 12 Diseases
[Compiled by Hu Lizong/Comprehensive Report]
Climate change caused by global warming not only affects food supply and water resource distribution but may also trigger large-scale outbreaks of certain diseases. A recent research report by the "Wildlife Conservation Society" (WCS) points out twelve diseases most likely to erupt due to climate change and calls on countries to quickly establish monitoring networks to preemptively respond to animal outbreaks and prevent human suffering.
This report, to be presented at the annual meeting of the "International Union for Conservation of Nature" (IUCN), identifies the "Twelve Deadly Diseases" as avian influenza, babesiosis, cholera, Ebola, parasites, Lyme disease, plague, red tides (algae), Rift Valley fever, sleeping sickness, tuberculosis, and yellow fever.
Steven Sanderson, the president of the society, noted that even minor climate changes can have profound effects on disease spread. While climate change often brings to mind melting icebergs or rising sea levels, changes in temperature and rainfall can also affect the spread of deadly pathogens. For example, warmer climates can allow germs or vectors to live longer, changes in rainfall patterns can increase the survival rate of pathogens and make them easier to spread, and changes in livestock patterns can increase contact between domesticated and wild animals.
Therefore, Sanderson recommends establishing a global early warning mechanism to prevent potential outbreaks.
Among the twelve deadly diseases, warmer climates can allow Vibrio cholerae to live longer, similarly extending the lifespan of the ticks that spread Lyme disease and babesiosis, and changes in bird migration patterns due to climate change can introduce avian influenza to new areas.
It is noteworthy that malaria, which is also affected by climate, was not included in this report because the virus strains that infect humans and animals are different.
The society also pointed out that similar early warning mechanisms have already been established in some countries and have shown certain effectiveness. For example, a monitoring network in Congo that includes hunters and forest gatherers has functioned well over the past three years, preventing outbreaks by avoiding the consumption of animals infected with the Ebola virus. Similar mechanisms in South American countries have preemptively vaccinated residents when animals have outbreaks of yellow fever, also preventing large-scale human infections.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 081009/ 78/ 17bud. html