Land-Use Change and Emerging Infectious Disease on an Island Continent
Open Access
- 27 June 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Vol. 10 (7), 2699-2719
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10072699
Abstract
A more rigorous and nuanced understanding of land-use change (LUC) as a driver of emerging infectious disease (EID) is required. Here we examine post hunter-gatherer LUC as a driver of infectious disease in one biogeographical region with a compressed and documented history—continental Australia. We do this by examining land-use and native vegetation change (LUCC) associations with infectious disease emergence identified through a systematic (1973–2010) and historical (1788–1973) review of infectious disease literature of humans and animals. We find that 22% (20) of the systematically reviewed EIDs are associated with LUCC, most frequently where natural landscapes have been removed or replaced with agriculture, plantations, livestock or urban development. Historical clustering of vector-borne, zoonotic and environmental disease emergence also follows major periods of extensive land clearing. These advanced stages of LUCC are accompanied by changes in the distribution and density of hosts and vectors, at varying scales and chronology. This review of infectious disease emergence in one continent provides valuable insight into the association between accelerated global LUC and concurrent accelerated infectious disease emergence.Keywords
This publication has 85 references indexed in Scilit:
- Investigation of the Climatic and Environmental Context of Hendra Virus Spillover Events 1994–2010PLOS ONE, 2011
- Urban habituation, ecological connectivity and epidemic dampening: the emergence of Hendra virus from flying foxes (Pteropusspp.)Proceedings Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2011
- Landscape Changes Influence the Occurrence of the Melioidosis Bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei in Soil in Northern AustraliaPLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2009
- Global trends in emerging infectious diseasesNature, 2008
- Environmental Determinants of Infectious Disease: A Framework for Tracking Causal Links and Guiding Public Health ResearchEnvironmental Health Perspectives, 2007
- Flinders Island Spotted Fever Rickettsioses Caused by “marmionii” Strain ofRickettsia honei,Eastern AustraliaEmerging Infectious Diseases, 2007
- Environmental change and infectious disease: How new roads affect the transmission of diarrheal pathogens in rural EcuadorProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2006
- Avian influenza, domestic ducks and rice agriculture in ThailandAgriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2006
- Ecology Drives the Worldwide Distribution of Human DiseasesPLoS Biology, 2004