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The debilitating dengue fever is spread by mosquitoes.

Officials warn that the United States is not equipped to handle the spread of infectious diseases caused by climate change; little investment or progress has been made in bolstering disease detection and response capabilities in the United States, despite warnings from intelligence agencies; increased heat, humidity, and rainfall have caused the spread of mosquitoes and other bugs which carry deadly tropical diseases to new areas where people have yet build up a resistance; the United States is now experiencing outbreaks of dengue fever and West Nile virus; in 2010 the CDC reported 110 deaths and 1,356 cases of West Nile virus in the United States; intelligence agencies also worry about the potential for the spread of these diseases to destabilize fragile nations across Asia and Africa.

Read the full article here:

http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/us-unprepared-climate-induced-disease-outbreaks

Photo Credit: athirday.info

While the monitoring of new and emerging infectious diseases has greatly improved over the past fifteen or so years mainly due to concerns related to possible bioterrorism events, the U.S. government (and governments around the world) still need to increase the scope of such surveillance and to better coordinate possible response programs.  Such programs are being worked upon but I am afraid that due to budget cuts such surveillance and response programs are going to result in less than adequate measures. These diseases will occur and they will spread especially with the coming environmental alterations due to climate change which will only encourage their development and spread. This is not a concern to be taken lightly. On the contrary, it is a concern that needs to be made clear to our government representatives by us as citizens expressing our concern. This is not a concern to leave up to the government to deal with when they think they are willing to include it into some pork barrel budget loop. This is a concern that we, as a people may feel, literally, in our gut and a concern we need to make clear to Congress that it needs to be funded. – Editor.

Human-driven changes in the earth’s atmospheric composition are likely to alter plant diseases of the future. Researchers predict carbon dioxide will reach levels double those of the preindustrial era by the year 2050, complicating agriculture’s need to produce enough food for a rapidly growing population.

Septoria brown spot

University of Illinois researchers are studying the impact of elevated carbon dioxide, elevated ozone and higher atmospheric temperatures on plant diseases that could challenge crops in these changing conditions.

Darin Eastburn, U of I associate professor of crop sciences, evaluated the effects of elevated carbon dioxide and ozone on three economically important soybean diseases under natural field conditions at the soybean-free air-concentrating enrichment (SoyFACE) facility in Urbana.

The diseases downy mildew, Septoria brown spot, and sudden death syndrome were observed from 2005 to 2007 using visual surveys and digital image analysis. While changes in atmospheric composition altered disease expression, the responses of the three pathosystems varied considerably, Eastburn said.

Elevated carbon dioxide levels are more likely to have a direct effect on plant diseases through changes to the plant hosts rather than the plant pathogens.

Dr. Darin Eastburn

“In some cases, changes of only a few degrees have allowed plant diseases to become established earlier in the season, resulting in more severe disease epidemics,” Eastburn said. “The ranges of some diseases are expanding as rising temperatures are allowing pathogens to overwinter in regions that were previously too cold for them.”

“Information derived from climate change studies will help us prepare for the changes ahead by knowing which diseases are most likely to become more problematic,” he said. “Now is the time for plant pathologists, plant breeders, agronomists and horticulturalists to adapt disease management strategies to the changing environment.”

Eastburn will share his latest research on global climate change and the implications for future plant disease epidemics at the 2010 U of I Agronomy Day on Thursday, Aug. 19. For more information on Agronomy Day, go to http://agronomyday.cropsci.illinois.edu/.

This very interesting article on the adaptation of plant host vs. plant disease can been read here: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-06/uoic-ccc062410.php

The SoyFACE facility

Public release date: 24-Jun-2010

Contact: Jennifer Shike

jshike@illinois.edu

217-244-0888

University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

http://aces.illinois.edu/

Source: EurekaAlert!

Photo credits: University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences