Publications by authors named "Christopher J E Haggerty"
Article Synopsis
- Many low- and middle-income communities face interconnected challenges related to infectious diseases, food insecurity, and water access, which lack effective solutions.
- A study in West Africa shows that agricultural development can inadvertently increase schistosomiasis by promoting the growth of invasive aquatic vegetation that hosts disease-carrying snails; however, removing this vegetation led to lower infection rates in schoolchildren and no long-term negative impact on water quality.
- The removal process not only provided a cost-effective alternative for livestock feed but also helped return nutrients to agriculture while offering substantial public health benefits, creating a promising model for addressing poverty, disease, and environmental sustainability simultaneously.
Use of agrochemicals, including insecticides, is vital to food production and predicted to increase 2-5 fold by 2050. Previous studies have shown a positive association between agriculture and the human infectious disease schistosomiasis, which is problematic as this parasitic disease infects approximately 250 million people worldwide. Certain insecticides might runoff fields and be highly toxic to invertebrates, such as prawns in the genus Macrobrachium, that are biocontrol agents for snails that transmit the parasites causing schistosomiasis.
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- Schistosomiasis is a significant neglected tropical disease, especially in Africa, where access to treatment is inconsistent, and high snail populations contribute to reinfection risks for humans.
- This research focused on the relationship between aquatic factors, such as plant life and predators, and the abundance of infected snails and their infective cercariae in Senegal, an area with high schistosomiasis prevalence.
- Findings indicate that aquatic vegetation increases cercarial production in snails due to better nutrition, while the presence of snail predators lowers cercarial release, highlighting the complex ecological interactions influencing disease risk in the region.
Over 80% of amphibian species that are declining are forest dependent. Forestry practices are a major cause of forest alterations globally, and it is well documented that clearcutting can contribute to amphibian declines. However, there might be adverse effects of forestry practices other than clearcutting.
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