Pollution Causes 40% of Deaths Worldwide

A new study has found that about 40% of deaths worldwide are caused by water, air, and soil pollution.

Researchers at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY, USA) examined data from more than 120 published articles on the effects of population growth, malnutrition, and various kinds of environmental degradation on human diseases. The study found that of the world population of about 6.5 billion, 57% is malnourished, compared with 20% of a world population of 2.5 billion in 1950; nearly half the world's people are crowded into urban areas, often without adequate sanitation, and are exposed to epidemics of such diseases as measles and flu.

Among the studies main findings are that waterborne infections account for 80% of all infectious diseases. Increased water pollution--creating breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes--kills 1.2 million to 2.7 million people a year; air pollution--from smoke and various chemicals--kills about three million people per year; unsanitary living conditions account for more than five million deaths each year, of which more than half are children.

At the same time, more microbes are becoming increasingly drug-resistant. Global warming, together with changes in biologic diversity, is influencing parasite evolution and the ability of exotic species to invade new areas. As a result, such diseases as tuberculosis and influenza are re-emerging as major threats, while new threats--including West Nile virus and Lyme disease--have developed. The study was published on July 31, 2007, in the online edition of the journal Human Ecology.

"We have serious environmental resource problems of water, land, and energy, and these are now coming to bear on food production, malnutrition, and the incidence of diseases,” said lead author David Pimentel, a professor of ecology and agricultural sciences. "A growing number of people lack basic needs, like pure water and ample food. They become more susceptible to diseases driven by malnourishment, and air, water and soil pollutants.”


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