DECRYPTION – The extinctions of amphibians in Central America have caused epidemics of the disease transmitted by mosquitoes.
The frog and the parasite. This is not a fable title, but the subject of a very serious scientific study published on September 20 in the journal Environmental Research Letters. The authors, affiliated with the University of California (UC Davis), show the existence of a link between the extinction of dozens of amphibian species in Central America and the resurgence of malaria transmitted by mosquitoes in the of the human population. The linking of these two phenomena illustrates the close interdependence between the balance of natural ecosystems and the spread of infectious diseases.
Demonstrating this type of correlation is not easy. “Studying the impact of declining amphibian populations on real-life malaria incidence is a challenge”underline the authors of the study, because the sequence of these events generally occurs over decades and in vast spaces.
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