Human-induced deforestation is causing an increase in malaria cases.

Human-induced deforestation is causing an increase in malaria cases.A new study of 67 less-developed, malaria-endemic nations finds a link between deforestation and increasing malaria rates across developing nations. Nearly 130 million hectares of forest -- an area almost equivalent in size to South Africa -- have been lost since 1990, according to a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. A new study of 67 less-developed, malaria-endemic nations titled, "Anthropogenic forest loss and malaria prevalence: a comparative examination of the causes and disease consequences of deforestation in developing nations," published in AIMS Environmental Science, led by Lehigh University sociologist Dr. Kelly Austin, finds a link between deforestation and increasing malaria rates across developing nations. Malaria represents an infectious disease tied to environmental conditions, as mosquitoes represent the disease vector. Deforestation, Austin notes, is not a natural phenomenon, but rather results predominantly from human activities, or anthropogenically.