Mosquitos Are Moving to Higher Elevations — and So Is Malaria

Post Reply
User avatar
Watchman
Foreman
Posts: 43861
Joined: 31 Dec 1969 18:00
Location: Free America

Mosquitos Are Moving to Higher Elevations — and So Is Malaria

Post by Watchman »

As the planet warms, mosquitoes are slowly migrating to higher places — and bringing malaria to populations not used to dealing with the potentially deadly disease.

Researchers have documented the insects making their homes in higher places that are typically too cool for them, from the tropical highlands of South America to the mountainous but populous regions of eastern Africa. A recent Georgetown University study found them moving upward in sub-Saharan Africa at the rate of 21 feet per year.

“The link between climate change and expansion or change in mosquito distributions is real,” said Doug Norris, a specialist in mosquitoes at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

It’s difficult to pinpoint how these shifting mosquito populations will affect specific populations, Norris said, in part because people have gotten better at fighting malaria. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Image
“Two is one, one is none”
Post Reply