Anthropogenic environmental change and the emergence of infectious diseases in wildlife

By using the criteria that define emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) of hu mans. we can identify a similar group of EIDs in wildlife. In the current r eview we highlight an important series of wildlife EIDs: amphibian chytridi omycosis: diseases of marine invertebrates and vertebrates and two recently -emerged viral zoonoses, Nipah virus disease and West Nile virus disease. T hese exemplify the varied etiology, pathogenesis, zoonotic potential and ec ological impact of wildlife EIDs. Strikingly similar underlying factors dri ve disease emergence in both human and wildlife populations. These are pred ominantly ecological and almost entirely the product of human environmental change. The implications of wildlife EIDs are twofold: emerging wildlife d iseases cause direct and indirect loss of biodiversity and add to the threa t of zoonotic disease emergence. Since human environmental changes are larg ely responsible for their emergence, the threats wildlife EIDs pose to biod iversity and human health represent yet another consequence of anthropogeni c influence on ecosystems. We identify key areas where existing expertise i n ecology, conservation biology, wildlife biology. veterinary medicine and the impact of environmental change would augment programs to investigate em erging diseases of humans, and we comment on the need for greater medical a nd microbiological input into the study of wildlife diseases. (C) 2001 Else vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.