Spikes in malaria cases that occurred in Costa Rica and Panama between the 1990s and early 2000s may have occurred because the deadly Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis fungus decimated amphibians in those countries. Research published yesterday (September 20) in Environmental Research Letters suggests severe declines in mosquito-devouring frogs, toads, and salamanders caused by the pathogen, also known as chytrid fungus, may have allowed malaria-spreading mosquito populations to thrive unchecked—an example of how biodiversity loss can have hidden consequences for humans.
“The results in our paper suggest that some policies, such as amphibian conservation policies or the regulation of wildlife trade, could have benefits for human health which are not currently accounted for,” study author Joakim Weill told Anthropocene in 2020, after a preprint of the study was posted on medRXiv.
Past assessments had established the fungus’s journey across the region: It first appeared in the northwest of Costa Rica in the 1980s, ...
