Environment

Diseases in the Amazon and their links to deforestation

A recent study encountered a direct link between increased deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and a number of mosquito-borne diseases. Researchers also charted the spread of Covid-19 in the Amazon

illegal deforestation amazon
Illegal logging in Ariquemes, Rondônia. Photo: Beethoven Delano/Folhapress

We at The Brazilian Report has shown how Covid-19 spread around the country’s indigenous communities, brought there by infected residents from urban centers and causing widespread death, putting the very survival of some communities and ethnicities at risk. And at the beginning of the coronavirus vaccination push, Brazil’s traditional peoples were almost completely ignored by the federal government.

Now, a study published in scientific journal Frontiers in Public Health proves that the spread of diseases in Brazil’s Amazon region is directly related to the agricultural development of municipalities and the loss of biodiversity. 

Authored by Brazilian researchers, the paper shows that diseases such as Covid-19 were so easily spread across the Amazon basin, as they are related to the transit of people. 

The study was carried out by researchers from the Trajetórias Project,...

Don't miss this opportunity!

Interested in staying updated on Brazil and Latin America? Subscribe to start receiving our reports now!