Malaria No Longer Eradicated Thanks to Global Warming
Tue, Oct 30, 2007
Environmental Graffiti Will be Changing Dramatically Soon. Get a Sneak Preview By Signing Up Here.
Malaria was eradicated in Peru 40 years ago, but deforestation and global warming are resulting in a resurgence in the mosquito-borne disease in the Peruvian Amazon.
Over 64,000 cases of malaria have been reported in Peru this year, almost half in the Amazon region of the country, and most doctors think there are many more unreported cases deeper in the jungle.
According to Andean Health Organization doctor Hugo Rodriguez, “Malaria is present. There have been 32,000 cases this year in this area alone - that says malaria is very much present.” He added that “now we are not talking about eradicating malaria any more, as that is impossible and unsustainable; we are doing our best to try and control it.”
Climate change is causing the revival of the disease. Out of season rain is leaving puddles containing infected larvae in previously unaffected areas. Logging is also to blame. Cutting down trees spreads the mosquitoes and their larvae to new areas.
Scientific studies have shown a link between deforestation and malaria in the past. A recent Peruvian study showed that mosquitoes in deforested areas were 300 times more likely to bite than mosquitoes in unlogged areas. The majority of the victims are the loggers themselves. Malaria victims in the Amazon are at a particularly high risk. There are very few health clinics in the Amazon even in heavily populated areas.
Source: Guardian
If you find this information useful and would like to get daily updates, feel free to subscribe to our RSS feed.
You Might Also Like Our Friends' Posts From the Intertubes
“The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else.”
1 Trackbacks For This Post
-
5 Deadliest Effects of Global Warming : Environmental Graffiti - environmental news blog Says:
January 28th, 2008 at 3:10 pm[...] 5. Spread of diseaseAs northern countries warm, disease carrying insects migrate north, bringing plague and disease with them. Indeed some scientists believe that in some countries thanks to global warming, malaria has not been fully eradicated. [...]
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:47 am
Malaria was almost eradicated from the face of the earth when the politically correct crowd decided to present their junk science case against the most effective anti-insecticide, DDT! The science has been disproven and the taint remains.
This is why the far-left socialists, communists and anarchists have corrupted the environmental movement: for political power. Some believe that man is the worst plague to hit planet earth. Others believe that disease and starvation will lead to more utopian societies.
And the stupid sheeple submit… just like they blame carbon dioxide for global warming… or ignore the beneficial effects of global warming. But no matter how the slice and dice it, global climate change is cyclical and we are starting to regress to that unknown mean — soon to be manifest as global cooling; with much the same solutions — lesser personal freedom, bigger government and more taxation and wealth re-distribution: from the poor to the wealthy and powerful… the so-called elites of society.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:39 pm
What could be the possible solutions for these diseases?
April 28th, 2009 at 1:44 am
This is so sad! I can’t believe world is going to drown