Peter J. Hotez

“ Conflict and post-conflict settings are central to the massive epidemic of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Middle East [ [6] ] . While Zika has so far not been linked to these factors, the political destabilization in Venezuela could become a contributory factor.
Deforestation In Asia, deforestation may have increased human and bat contact to promote Nipah and Hendra viruses and SARS [ [10] ] . ”

“ Emerging evidence indicates that the Holocene, our most recent geological epoch that began at the end of the last ice age almost 12,000 years ago, has undergone some fundamental changes because of human activity. ”

“ Such factors could be responsible for accelerating the geographic expansions of arbovirus infections [ [31] , [32] ] , leishmaniasis [ [33] ] , and Chagas disease [ [34] ] , but this concept requires further exploration. In addition, we are just beginning to understand the role of El Niño events in promoting these and other NTDs [ [35] , [36] ] . The fact that Zika virus expanded dramatically in an El Niño year is also of interest, but as yet, there are no proven links.
Many of the factors highlighted above were either manufactured or shaped by human activity. ”

“ Several human activities that characterize the Anthropocene account for the increases in NTDs. It is instructive to see how some of these factors illustrated in Fig 2 helped to facilitate the emergence of two of the most devastating NTDs in 2014 and 2015—Ebola and Zika virus infections, respectively, as well as other high-disease-burden NTDs such as the cutaneous and visceral forms of leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis.
Poverty and Blue Marble Health As has been said very frequently in our editorials, poverty is front and center. ”

“ Barnofsky, AD & Poirier, C (2016) , The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene, vol. 351, p. 137 ↑ Vaughan, A (2016) , Human impact has pushed earth into the Anthropocene, scientists say, ↑ ↑ Hotez, PJ & Herricks, J (2014) , Venezuela: an emerging tropical disease and humanitarian emergency? ↑ Hotez, PJ (2016) , Southern Europe’s coming plagues: vector-borne neglected tropical diseases, vol. ”