Malaria–Is the U.S. Next?
With global warming, large parts of southern England and Wales are at risk from malaria. Scientist say the disease is most likely to arrive in river areas and low-lying wetlands. Humans become infected when bitten by a mosquito that is carrying the parasite.
Researchers at Durham University in the U.K. used a mathematical model to predict how global warming will increase the threat of malaria in coming years. They studied vivax malaria, which can be transmitted by a species of mosquito commonly found in Britain, Anopheles atroparvus. A rise in temperature encourages the mosquito to breed and feed more rapidly and also speeds up the maturation of the malaria parasite.
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