4 replies to this topic

[Karlis]

From hantavirus to bird flu to West Nile

diseases crossing from animals to people is becoming more common thanks to global warming.
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[FurthurBB]

Karlis, on 11 September 2012 - 10:45 AM, said:

From hantavirus to bird flu to West Nile

diseases crossing from animals to people is becoming more common thanks to global warming.
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I really doubt it is because of global warming.  It is more a change in lifesyle and moving in on the animals natural environments more and more.  Think about yellow fever.  Before Europeans traveled to the tropics no Europeans contracted yellow fever.  Was it technology that led to a new animal born disease being spread to Europeans?  In a way, but only because they used it to change their lifestyle to travel to the tropics.  Yellow fever was already affecting people who lived in the tropics, but other new animal born viruses have been seen after enough humans arrived at a previously un/under populated region.  There is a theory that is what happened with syphilis although there is some debate.

[questionmark]

It is not global warming that should worry us but the uncontrolled feeding of antibiotics in feedlots. They make already bad bugs resistant.

And yes, if the world gets warmer the critter that live in warm environments will spread. Nothing much you can do about that.

[Hilander]

I don't know if they are on the rise or we are just hearing about them more and they are easier diagnosed.  There was a time when people became ill they just called it a bad cold or something when it was really something else.

Some of these diseases are mutating because of over use of antibiotics and being spread throughout the world more because of travel.  A warmer planet is a better breeding ground for these diseases so global warming does play a part.

[redhen]

I think what's more worrisome in terms of numbers of human deaths are the animal viruses like H1N1. The numbers of humans killed by these viruses are staggering. The 1918 epidemic, that started in pigs, killed roughly 50 - 100 million people.

Naturally, when you have increasing contact between growing numbers of people (China) and enourmous numbers of pigs, birds, whatever, you're going to have an increased risk of another world-wide pandemic.

A couple of mosquitos or mice pale in signifigance.