Animal diseases intensified by climate change
From Bluetongue disease in sheep to Rift Valley Fever in camels, researchers say that animal diseases are sparked and spread by climate change. What causes them, and what can people do to prevent them from spreading?
Bluetongue is transmitted by a tiny biting midge, Cullicoides immitus, similar to the way that malaria is spread by mosquitoes. Sheep with swollen, bright blue tongues: it is a surreal sight only recently spotted in Germany. Aptly dubbed Bluetongue, the deadly disease causing the coloration was previously well known in veterinary medicine as a virus specific to Africa, says Heribert Hofer, the director of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research and a professor at Free University of Berlin. It particularly occurs in sheep, cattle and goats.