Trees and disease: Public health measures to fight malaria—including insecticide-treated bed nets—lose effectiveness as deforestation rises.
Trees and disease: Public health measures to fight malaria—including insecticide-treated bed nets—lose effectiveness as deforestation rises.
When a forest is lost to development, some effects are obvious. Stumps and mud puddles across the landscape, a plowed field or houses a year after that. But deforestation isn’t just a loss of trees; it’s a loss of the countless benefits that forests provide—one of which is control of disease.
Now, a startling new global study shows that a widespread malaria-fighting strategy—bed nets—becomes less effective as deforestation rises. The research underscores how important a healthy environment can be for human health.
Insecticide-treated bed nets are one of the most common malaria prevention measures. They prevent malaria-transmitting mosquitos from biting residents as they sleep, and nonprofits distribute them widely, spending into the billions of dollars, said Gund Institute Director Taylor Ricketts.
Read more at University of Vermont
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