Climate change pushes "African" diseases north: expert (Jeremy Clarke)

Created by : Francis Goodwin View profile

Global warming is pushing northwards diseases more commonly found in developing countries, posing a risk to the financial and physical health of rich nations, the head of a livestock herders' charity said.

By Jeremy Clarke -- Reuters

March 9, 2007 -- Global warming is pushing northwards diseases more commonly found in developing countries, posing a risk to the financial and physical health of rich nations, the head of a livestock herders' charity said.

Steve Sloan, chief executive of GALVmed, said on Friday insect-borne diseases were increasingly moving north, such as the viral infection bluetongue that has hit cattle and sheep in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany.

If Kenya's Rift Valley Fever also reached Europe, the impact would be immense, he said.

"These 'African' diseases have become global issues because of climate change," Sloan told Reuters in an interview.

"Following the bluetongue outbreak in Germany, some meat markets in the country saw an annual drop of up to a third," he said. "Wait until something like Rift Valley Fever arrives, that brings death with it as well."

Bluetongue, which is not harmful to humans, has been present for several years in Spain and Italy.

The disease, transmitted by midges, was first discovered in South Africa and has been spreading north since the late 1990s. Experts say that is due to global warming.