At a field site in Panama, scientists found that rates of hantavirus tripled in rodents as the number of rodent species dropped. Hantavirus is an often-fatal disease that can spread from rodents to people.
The new study strengthens a growing sense that reducing biodiversity increases the risk that diseases will jump from animals to people.
In the last few years, scientists have increasingly noticed that, when biodiversity dips, rates of Lyme disease, West Nile virus, SARS and other infectious diseases rise. Called zoonotic diseases, these illnesses also spread from animals to people.
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