Climate change may affect balance among humans, animals, germs

March 28, 2011

University Relations

According to a paper by UAF Institute of Arctic Biology microbiologist Karsten Hueffer in the online journal Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, climate change in the Arctic could alter the balance of power among humans, animals and germs. Hueffer says people and animals can reach an equilibrium at which microorganisms that infect them do not cause a lot of disease. A warmer Arctic could disturb the balance by increasing the survival of organisms that carry disease by decreasing survival of the animals they infect, including animals used as subsistence food by people living in the region. For more information visit www.uafnews.com.