MNN - Mother Nature Network

Steven E. Sanderson, president and CEO of the WCS, commented on the issue in a brochure released by the nonprofit:

 

“The term ‘climate change’ conjures images of melting ice caps and rising sea levels that threaten coastal cities and nations. But just as important is how increasing temperatures and fluctuating precipitation levels will change the distribution of dangerous pathogens. The health of wild animals is tightly linked to the ecosystems in which they live and influenced by the environment surrounding them. Even minor disturbances can have far reaching consequences on what diseases they might encounter and transmit as climate changes.”

 

The WCS says that increased monitoring of wildlife is important to prevent these diseases from outbreaks. From a story on Scientific American’s website:

 

“We will see a shift in the geographic distribution of diseases, with certain areas having reduced prevalence and other areas increasing,” says veterinarian William Karesh, WCS’s vice president of global health programs. “We are calling for increased attention and action in developing global monitoring networks to look at a wide variety of infectious diseases in a wide variety of wildlife since they are such sensitive indicators of the health of the systems in which they live.”

 

With that being said (and without further ado), take a look at the Deadly Dozen. Fair warning: Pathogens range from the mildly disconcerting to the downright panic-attack-inducing:

 

Frightening, we know. To help ease your mind, just think of all the wonderful things that usually come as a dozen — donuts, eggs, months of the year, the 12 days of Christmas…