Study Shows Where New Diseases May Arise
| AR Articles on Racial Differences |
|---|
| Race and Psychopathic Personality (Jul. 2002) |
| Race and Teenage Pregnancy (Feb. 2002) |
| The Biological Reality of Race (Oct. 1999) |
| Why Race Matters (Oct. 1997) |
| Race and Health (May 1996) |
| A New Theory of Racial Differences (Dec. 1994) |
| Search AmRen.com for Racial Differences |
| More news stories on Racial Differences |
NEW YORK (AP)—New infectious diseases have been appearing more often, says a study that suggests “hot spots” where the next new germs are most likely to appear. “We need to be out there in the hot spot regions looking for the next HIV,” said study co-author Peter Daszak.
{snip}
Experts called it the most thoroughly documented report yet to show a past increase in new infectious diseases and to predict where they might appear next.
{snip}
Decade-by-decade, such incidents grew steadily from 25 in the 1940s to 98 in the 1990s, except for a spike of 103 during the 1980s.
{snip}
The researchers said the highest risk areas are in parts of east Asia, Central America and South America, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, western Europe and some population centers of North America. That’s because the historical analysis had found the risk of such diseases goes up with factors like high population density and diversity of wildlife, the researchers said.
{snip}
[Editor’s Note: The full text can be read or downloaded as a PDF document be read here. Payment is required. The abstract appears below.]
(Posted on February 22, 2008)
Global Trends in Emerging Infectious Diseases
Kate E. Jones, et al., Nature, February 21, 2008
Nature 451, 990-993 (21 February 2008) | doi:10.1038/nature06536; Received 2 August 2007; Accepted 11 December 2007
Kate E. Jones1, Nikkita G. Patel2, Marc A. Levy3, Adam Storeygard3,5, Deborah Balk3,5, John L. Gittleman4 & Peter Daszak2
1 Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
2 Consortium for Conservation Medicine, Wildlife Trust, 460 West 34th Street, 17th Floor, New York, New York 10001, USA
3 Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Earth Institute, Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, New York 10964, USA
4 Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
5 Present addresses: Department of Economics, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA (A.S.); School of Public Affairs, Baruch College, City University of New York, 1 Bernard Baruch Way, Box D-0901, New York, New York 10010, USA (D.B.).
Correspondence to: Peter Daszak2 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to P.D. (Email: daszak@conservationmedicine.org).
Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are a significant burden on global economies and public health1, 2, 3. Their emergence is thought to be driven largely by socio-economic, environmental and ecological factors1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, but no comparative study has explicitly analysed these linkages to understand global temporal and spatial patterns of EIDs. Here we analyse a database of 335 EID ‘events’ (origins of EIDs) between 1940 and 2004, and demonstrate non-random global patterns. EID events have risen significantly over time after controlling for reporting bias, with their peak incidence (in the 1980s) concomitant with the HIV pandemic. EID events are dominated by zoonoses (60.3% of EIDs): the majority of these (71.8%) originate in wildlife (for example, severe acute respiratory virus, Ebola virus), and are increasing significantly over time. We find that 54.3% of EID events are caused by bacteria or rickettsia, reflecting a large number of drug-resistant microbes in our database. Our results confirm that EID origins are significantly correlated with socio-economic, environmental and ecological factors, and provide a basis for identifying regions where new EIDs are most likely to originate (emerging disease ‘hotspots’). They also reveal a substantial risk of wildlife zoonotic and vector-borne EIDs originating at lower latitudes where reporting effort is low. We conclude that global resources to counter disease emergence are poorly allocated, with the majority of the scientific and surveillance effort focused on countries from where the next important EID is least likely to originate.
Comments
and some population centers of North America
Do they mean the non-white population centers of North America?
Posted by St. Louis CofCC Blogmeister at 5:42 PM on February 22
India and China with their raw sewage dumping into rivers are the breading ground for new desease. China and India will never pay what it costs to treat their wastes unless nations like the USA force them to do it by cutting back on imports.
Posted by the Soviet Republic of New Jersey at 8:18 PM on February 22
Travel/migration has accelerated the spread of disease. Anyone who can buy a place ticket can transfer any disease to their destination.
Identifying regional areas of diseases does little to prevent. Once the causes of diseases are found, needed actions are what will inhibit transfer. Strict monitoring, quarantining, vacinations,voluntary screenings, etc. Better public health will be achieved by returning to past monitoring of transients.
More globalization fallout…. USA is the big loser in this game. V
Posted by Vickie at 11:12 PM on February 22
I watched a 60 minutes news special a few years ago that illustrated Asia’s attitude toward thier pollution problem. A man owns a company that disassembles ships for salvage. Over the years this practice has absolutelely destroyed the beaches and killed off all of the sealife in the area. The 60 minute reporter asked if he intended to do anything to clean up the mess his company had made. His response was that if his government were to demand that; he would simply close his business and then they would turn to the United Nations and blame all of it on the west; the western countries (USA and Europe) would then be sued for the cleanup through the world court.
The point here is that the entire world has come to think that the west should be held responsible for all the world’s problems.This “white guilt” syndrome will eventually be the death of the west as we know it.
Posted by at 4:53 AM on February 23
Rational people would decide to stop all immigration so as to prevent the spread of disease.
Posted by at 7:34 AM on February 23
We should have a poll, how wimpy/spineless is your occupation? I speculate that journalism would be right up there. Obviously Malcolm Ritter and the editors at AP just weren’t allowed to say “Mexico City”
Swim out pass the breakers and watch the world die….
Posted by swim at 10:33 AM on February 23
The media will never connect the dots: third world immigrants bring disease in.
Posted by at 2:05 PM on February 23
Dear god, read Paul Farmer’s book pathologies of power. It’s an incredible study of health care, disease, and foolish national/international responses.
Posted by at 8:27 PM on February 23
I know three people who travelled throughout China. They all said the same thing about unbelievable amounts of pollution everywhere.
Posted by at 10:10 PM on February 23
“The researchers said the highest risk areas are in parts of east Asia, Central America and South America, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, western Europe and some population centers of North America.”
Go to almost any nursing home in a city and you will find exactly the same population caring for your elderly parents and grandparents, and caring for you, if you have multiple sclerosis, severe rheumatoid arthritis, or are in a car accident. Now picture yourself with a UTI, with MRSA, with a Foley bag that gets changed every two weeks, or with the night after night stench of your roommate’s urine in a urinal that only gets emptied once every eight hours. If I had $1 for every time a “caregiver” fails to wash his/her hands I’d be on a cruise right now (probably picking up a virus). The 30 second rule, when hands ARE washed, is never followed. Hands are dampened, no soap used, and rubbed together, then whatever’s left on that person’s hands is transferred to the paper towel box. This goes on with grocery staff (staph) too.
And there seems to be an attitude toward the West, IN the West, that the toilets don’t get flushed in public restrooms, either. It’s like a mental illness: “Look at what I did!” like they get a thrill out of forcing you to see it while you’re searching for a clean toilet. There’s no way children are doing this, and if they are, their parents should flush it.
Posted by at 10:57 AM on February 24
The point here is that the entire world has come to think that the west should be held responsible for all the world’s problems.This “white guilt” syndrome will eventually be the death of the west as we know it.
——————————————————————————
I have no guilt problem. I have had no slaves, do not abuse others, am not the cause of “others” problems. I trully believe those whome blame us would change thier tune if the White population took the same attitude and blamed others for the problems in our society like, crime stats, poor economies and racial tensions. But we would be racist to stop aid???? It is time to push back and a good start would be to STOP all generosity to non-white countries. Like $$$ and investment in those countries. It is time for them to evolve and solve thier own dillemas instead of migrating to traditionally White societies bringing thier issues with them. And forcing us to deal and solve them on thier behalf. Feed yourself and let the others survive on thier own merrits. But, we all know what this will be portraid as,,,Racisim
Posted by johnny from Alberta at 2:15 PM on February 24
“I know three people who travelled throughout China. They all said the same thing about unbelievable amounts of pollution everywhere.”
Taiwan was reputed to have some of the most polluted air but I think things there have been at least improving. For a region that didn’t really produce all that much, Eastern Europe used to have a high level of air pollution also.
Posted by at 2:29 PM on February 24
I can confirm the immense amount of pollution in China, even though it has been 20 years since I was last there. That said, the locals were considerably cleaner than in Mexico. At a resort (Ixtapa) where my family stayed in 1980, I watched one of the maids hawk up a great lunger and spit it on the carpet she had been vacuuming. One can only wonder what the personal habits of the kitchen staff were like.
No, I have not returned to Mexico as an adult, and never will.
Posted by Michael C. Scott at 3:32 PM on February 24
On the other hand, these toxic ships for disassembling probably originate from the West who “outsourced” it elsewhere because of all those fancy and strict eco-laws here and their absence in Asia. As well as all the manufacturing industry (and the jovs going with it) that would be too costly to run under the said laws in Europe or North America.
I find that rather hypocritical from the West, sneering at China and India for polluting while eagerly profiting from it. And maybe we should remember how our own rivers and landscapes have been polluted and destroyed when we were industrializing in 19th and in the first half of 20th century.
Posted by EW at 4:52 AM on February 25
Has anyone noticed that RECALLS of food products has RISEN DRAMATICALLY as the POPULATION of IMMIGRANTS…both LEGAL & ILLEGAL has RISEN DRAMATICALLY?…remember…that Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Gwyneth Paltrow and other patrons have to take shots because of EXPOSURE to HEPATITIS…of a bartender who was working at a HIGH END restaurant!…This particular type of Hepatitis is caused because of coming in contact with FECAL MATTER!…the bartender was HISPANIC!…I have to wonder…when these people use the restroom…do they know how to use toilet paper?…do they use toilet paper?…we already know they DON’T wash their hands!…THIS WILL become COMMONPLACE as businesses hire MORE & MORE…THIRD WORLD “IMMIGRANTS”!
Posted by Suzan Donoghue at 9:57 AM on February 25
“This particular type of Hepatitis is caused because of coming in contact with FECAL MATTER!…the bartender was HISPANIC!…”
And when the Mexicans finally raise their Flag over America, this is what twe can expect…
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806EED8173AF937A25751C0A96F958260
“THIS winter the residents of Mexico City, who are long accustomed to breathing toxic concentrations of ozone, are also breathing poisonous amounts of something else: tiny airborne “Occurrence of airborne enteric bacteria in Mexico city particles of bus exhaust, industrial smoke, garbage and what the authorities refer to, with scientific detachment, as fecal matter. “
http://www.springerlink.com/content/l21352415m1617r7/
Occurrence of airborne enteric bacteria in Mexico city
Posted by at 10:33 AM on February 28