Researchers Uncover Future “Hot Spots” for Disease
A study conducted by the Consortium for Conservation Medicine at Wildlife Trust revealed this week that infectious diseases are more likely to emerge in specific “hot spots” across the globe, the Associated Press (AP)/MSNBC reports (msnbc.msn.com, 2/20).
Researchers’ findings, published in the February 21 issue of Nature, were the result of detailed analyses of the 335 appearances of new diseases between 1940 and 2004. Using this historical data, they were able to pinpoint future disease “hot spots,” which include eastern Asia, Central and South America, Africa, the Indian subcontinent, western Europe and highly populated regions in North America. Each of these regions are at high risk due to high population density and wildlife diversity.
Researchers note that because HIV/AIDS is thought to have emerged from chimpanzees, future infections are likely to spring up through human contact with wildlife.
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Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
