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Climate blamed for upsurge in disease

By James Randerson

19 June 2004

INFECTIOUS disease is on the march. Dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever and other diseases that were once under control are now resurgent. Others such as West Nile virus and Rift Valley fever are expanding their range. And still more, such as sabia virus, have appeared in humans for the first time. A major underlying cause is suspected to be climate change.

Now an analysis of more than 300 human diseases has found that the distribution of pathogens worldwide is strongly linked to climate, and that climate change could lead to a massive increase in human vector-borne disease.

There are…

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