Monkeypox isn ’t the disease we should be worried about | John Vidal

Climate change is likely to exacerbate the rapid spread of viruses and pathogens as humans encroach on the natural worldIn the past three weeks there have been nearly 100 cases and 18 human deaths from arare tick-borne disease in Iraq; afourth case of the Ebola virus and more than 100 cases of bubonic plague have been found in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and just two years after Africa was declared free of wild polio, new cases have turned up inMalawi and Mozambique. A dangerous strain of typhus is circulating in Nepal, India and China. There are alarming outbreaks on several continents of mosquito diseases such as malaria, dengue andWest Nile virus.Set against this global context, the so-far very limited monkeypox outbreaks that have started to appear in the last month –including71 cases detected in the UK–are only remarkable because they are being reported in rich countries.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Monkeypox Infectious diseases Microbiology Science World news Farming Animals Environment Source Type: news