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Malaria increases 50 percent following deforestation in the Amazon Jeremy Hance mongabay.com June 16, 2010 "It appears that deforestation is one of the initial ecological factors that can trigger a malaria epidemic," says Sarah Olson, the lead author of the new report and a postdoctoral fellow at the Nelson Institute, Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Researchers combined information on malaria occurrences in 54 Brazilian health districts with satellite imagery of Amazon deforestation. "The deforested landscape, with more open spaces and partially sunlit pools of water, appears to provide ideal habitat for this mosquito," Olson says of Anopheles darlingi, the primary carrier of malaria in the Amazon. In deforested areas Anopheles darlingi displaces other less-malaria prone mosquitoes that favor forest landscapes. "A 4 percent change in forest cover was associated with a 48 percent increase in malaria incidence in these 54 health districts," explains Olson. "The health data used in the study is of the highest quality and spatial resolution. Unlike previous studies, our data allowed us to zoom in on areas where people are being exposed to malaria and to exclude areas where they are not being exposed." The study adjusted for human population, access to healthcare, and additional factors, yet still found malaria outbreaks closely aligned with deforestation. Related articles Tropical forest tree is source of new mosquito repellent as effective as DEET (02/05/2009) Isolongifolenone, a natural compound found in the Tauroniro tree (Humiria balsamifera) of South America, has been identified as an effective deterrent of mosquitoes and ticks, report researchers writing in the latest issue of Journal of Medical Entomology. Global malaria map released - 35% of humanity at risk (02/25/2008) Researchers have developed a spatial distribution map for malaria. The results are published in Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine. Stopping malaria using smell (08/31/2007) Researchers have taken an important first step in developing improved repellants to protect mankind from its deadliest insect parasite: the mosquito.
Tags: amazon Amazon Deforestation brazil disease diseases malaria deforestation rainforests Rainforest deforestation rainforest conservation rainforest destruction green environment jeremy hance Amazon rainforest amazon conservation amazon destruction conservation forests rainforest saving rainforests saving the amazon tropical forests Environmental news index | RSS | News Feed | Twitter | Home Advertisements:
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