Deforestation, forest conversion and palm oil plantations linked to disease outbreaks

Deforestation, certain types of reforestation and commercial palm plantations correlate with increasing outbreaks of infectious disease, shows a new study in Frontiers in Veterinary Science. This study offers a first global look at how changes in forest cover potentially contribute to vector-borne diseases—such as those carried by mosquitos and ticks—as well as zoonotic diseases, like COVID-19, which jumped from an animal species into humans. The expansion of palm oil plantations in particular corresponded to significant rises in vector-borne disease infections.