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Biodiversity Protects Against Disease, Scientists Find

By Guest PostFebruary 15, 2013Natureamphibian eating birds, amphibian infections, amphibian species, aquatic parasite cycle, biodiversity, biodiversity matters, bird species, boulder, california tiger salamander, community of frogs, complex ecosystems, dan preston, decrease in disease, deformed frogs, disease transmission, doug levey, egrets, factor, grasslands, herons, humans, humans and wildlife, hypothesis, infection with ribeiroia, jason hoverman, katie richgels, large scale ecosystems, life cycle, lyme disease, malformations, national science foundation, northern leopard frog, organisms, parasite transmission, parasitic infections, pathogen, pieter johnson, pond, pond community, protects against disease, purdue university, replicate, reservoir hosts, ribeiroia ondatrae, salamanders, toads, university of colorado, west nile virus

Discovery resulted from study of amphibians in ponds

The richer the assortment of amphibian species in a pond, the more protection that community of frogs, toads and salamanders has against a parasitic infection that can cause severe deformities, including the growth of extra legs.

The findings, published in a paper in this week’s issue of the journal Nature, support the idea that greater biodiversity in large-scale ecosystems, such as forests or grasslands, may also provide greater protection against diseases, including those that affect humans.

A larger number of mammal species in an area may curb cases of Lyme disease, while a larger number of bird species may slow the spread of West Nile virus. (more…)

High Population Density is Greatest Risk Factor For Water-Linked Diseases

By Guest PostFebruary 17, 2012Healthbo lu, c k shum, central africa, dengue fever, diarrhea, disease transmission, doug alsdorf, e coli, eastern brazil, environmental change, environmental condition, gideon, global analysis, hazards, hot spots, infectious disease, insect bite, jeffrey lejeune, kun yang, latin america, legionella, malaria, model, northern india, ohio state database, population density, risk factor, routes, schistosomiasis, song liang, southeast asia, surface area, trypanosomiasis, water associated, water bodies, western europe

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Water-associated infectious disease outbreaks are more likely to occur in areas where a region’s population density is growing, according to a new global analysis of economic and environmental conditions that influence the risk for these outbreaks.

Ohio State University scientists constructed a massive database containing information about 1,428 water-associated disease outbreaks that were reported between 1991 and 2008 around the world. By combining outbreak records with data on a variety of socio-environmental factors known about the affected regions, the researchers developed a model that can be used to predict risks for water-associated disease outbreaks anywhere in the world. (more…)

New U-M Computer Model Predicts Cholera Outbreaks Up To 11 Months in Advance

By Guest PostJanuary 23, 2012Environment, Scienceaaron king, annual monsoon flooding, attack rates, bacterium, Bangladesh, capital city, cholera cases, cholera outbreaks, climate change, climate factors, climate sensitive urban core, climate variability, computer model, cycles of cholera, dhaka, diarrheal disease, disease transmission, ecology, el niño southern oscillation, enso episode, fecal oral diseases, mercedes pascual, michael emch, mohammad yunus, pathogen, post monsoon, prediction, risk factors, robert reiner, sanitary conditions, space and time, spatial location, university of michigan, urban periphery, vaccination, vibrio cholera, warning system

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A new University of Michigan computer model of disease transmission in space and time can predict cholera outbreaks in Bangladesh up to 11 months in advance, providing an early warning system that could help public health officials there.

The new forecast model applies specifically to the capital city of Dhaka and incorporates data on both year-to-year climate variability and the spatial location of cholera cases at the district level. This allowed the researchers to study both local variation in disease transmission and response to climate factors within the megacity of 14 million people. (more…)

Human Networking Theory Gives Picture of Infectious Disease Spread

By Guest PostDecember 16, 20102 commentsHealthcontact networks, disease transmission, human networking theory, infectious diseases, networking theory, sexual contact networks, social networking theory

High school students’ interactions provide new look at disease transmission

Graphic showing the flu virus and its antibodies. Image credit: NIH

It’s colds and flu season, and as any parent knows, colds and flu spread like wildfire, especially through schools.

New research using human-networking theory may give a clearer picture of just how, exactly, infectious diseases such as the common cold, influenza, whooping cough and SARS can spread through a closed group of people, and even through populations at large.

With the help of 788 volunteers at a high school, Marcel Salathé, a biologist at Penn State University, developed a new technique to count the number of possible disease-spreading events that occur in a typical day.

This results are published in this week’s issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)

Tag Archives: disease transmission

Biodiversity Protects Against Disease, Scientists Find

High Population Density is Greatest Risk Factor For Water-Linked Diseases

New U-M Computer Model Predicts Cholera Outbreaks Up To 11 Months in Advance

Human Networking Theory Gives Picture of Infectious Disease Spread