Heavy deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon is not only having devastating ecological consequences, but apparently also leading to increased cases of malaria. Scientists were able to prove this after analyzing twenty years of data.
After analyzing data from 2003 to 2022, a team from the US and Brazil found that a one percent increase in the monthly deforestation rate just one month later leads to an average increase in malaria cases of 6.3 percent.
The influence of rainforest destruction on the risk of malaria varies from state to state, the research group writes in the ‘Proceedings’ of the American National Academy of Sciences (‘PNAS’). However, the results suggested that deforestation was linked to an increase in malaria cases a month later.
Good conditions for breeding grounds after deforestation
The reason for this is likely that the mosquito Nyssorhynchus darlingi, which is mainly responsible for transmitting malaria in Brazil, finds more favorable breeding conditions after deforestation, reports the team led by Burton H. Singer of the University of Florida and Marcia C. Castro of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
They prefer breeding habitats with clean and partly sunny water, with aquatic plants but free of decomposing organic matter. In natural forests, where light is generally scarce, the conditions are rarely met. However, the mosquitoes often find ideal breeding conditions on the edge of logging areas. Moreover, the chance of contact between people and mosquitoes is greater there.
Malaria can be fatal if not treated
Malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide. The pathogen is transmitted by mosquitoes. The disease initially manifests as fever, headache, body aches and diarrhea and can be fatal if left untreated. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 249 million people in 85 countries around the world contracted malaria and 608,000 died from it in 2022. Most fatalities are children under the age of five.
Source: Krone
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