Avian Malaria Found in Alaska Birds
Posted 9.24.12 by Mike Dunham | The Anchorage Daily News
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A new study reports that a form of malaria, generally considered a tropical disease, is being contracted by birds as far north as Fairbanks. The report was published in the science journal PLOS ONE on Wednesday.
"It is predicted that malaria parasites will spread to both higher altitudes and latitudes with global warming," it says.
That may not be as alarming as it sounds. Avian malaria cannot be transmitted to people.
"While the parasites are related, they are not the same and it would be stretch to predict human malaria in the near future in Alaska," said Karsten Hueffer, a specialist in microbiology and infectious diseases with the Alaska Institutional Development Award Biomedical Excellence based at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
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