Myrtle Beach Main Panel, Part 3 - Robert T. Ball, Jr. | Sea Change - Episode 3

Doctor Robert T. Ball, Jr., physician, educator, and epidemiologist, joins to discuss the human-health aspects of climate change, like how infectious diseases caused by climate change affect those living in the community.  The main disease of focus is the spread of the Zika virus, but other diseases include Lyme disease, Dengue, West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever, and many others. The species of mosquito (which carries Zika) is not native to North America, and is showing up in increasing numbers due to the rise of global temperatures, and humidity.  Still bodies of water, such as ponds, are also causing growth of harmful algae, and are prime breeding areas for mosquitoes.  These diseases are also affecting fish populations, such as Grouper, and these fish poisonings are making consumers sick.