Climate change is causing the rapid growth of an organism that can cause illness or even death in humans, finds a new study. The paper focuses on a type of marine bacteria called Vibrio.
Climate change is causing the rapid growth of an organism that can cause illness or even death in humans, finds a new study.
The paper focuses on a type of marine bacteria called Vibrio. According to Scientific American, the bacteria sickens around 80,000 and kills about 100 people annually in the U.S. alone.
Some species of Vibrio can cause cholera, seafood-related food poisonings, and infections through open wounds, notes the Washington Post.
So for the study, an international team of researchers decided to compare existing data about the Vibrio population with sea surface temperatures across the past 50 years or so.
They not only found a link between warming waters and growing numbers of the bacteria, but the research also showed that more people have become infected by Vibrio during this period.
Rita Colwell, the lead researcher of the study, warns that the most vulnerable places are those that have previously not been exposed to the organism like Northern Europe.
Colwell further explains that "they are now reporting more Vibrio in their waters...Not because it wasn’t there before, but because the water was too cold [for them to bloom]. Vibrio responds very quickly to temperature.”
Lesser developed regions with poor sanitation systems are also considered to be at risk.
The study’s findings could potentially help to predict potential Vibrio outbreaks in the future, notes New Scientist.
