Logging Companies Play Major Role in the Emergence and Spread of New Diseases.

In a recent study that examined the factors contributing to human infection by novel pathogens, researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health found that the intersection of forest hunting and current tropical logging practices may play a central role in the emergence of new diseases. The study appears in the inaugural issue of Global Change and Human Health.

"Diseases have always passed from wild animals to human hunters, but dramatic increases in tropical logging, complete with new trucks and access roads, have allowed local disease outbreaks to have potentially global consequences," said Nathan Wolfe, Sc.D., Cameroon Country Director for the Program in Ecology and Health at Johns Hopkins.

An international team of scientists led by Dr. Wolfe found that the hunting and butchering of wild animals, particularly monkeys and apes, provides an important mechanism for the cross-species transmission of novel diseases such as Ebola, monkey pox, and possibly HIV Because of the transportation infrastructure provided by logging companies operating in tropical ecosystems, isolated outbreaks resulting from the hunting and butchering of wild animals have a new potential to spread globally. Other activities discussed by the authors--ecotourism, veterinary research, and exotic pet ownership--may also play a role.

Ultimately, the researchers hope that continued work in this field will lead to the ability to predict and control the emergence of diseases and to prevent new pathogens from making their way into the human population.