SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 19. 2012 -- Malaria has been found in birds
in parts of Alaska, and global climate change will drive it even
farther north, according to a new study published today in the
journal PLOS ONE. The spread could prove devastating to arctic
bird species that have never encountered the disease and thus
have no resistance to it, said San Francisco State University
Associate Professor of Biology Ravinder Sehgal, one of the
study's co-authors. It may also help scientists understand the
effects of climate change on the spread of human malaria, which
is caused by a similar parasite. Researchers examined blood
samples from birds collected at four sites of varying latitude,
with Anchorage as a southern point, Denali and Fairbanks as
middle points and Coldfoot as a northern point, roughly 600
miles north of Anchorage. They found infected birds in Anchorage
and Fairbanks but not in Coldfoot. Using satellite imagery and
other data, researchers were able to predict how environments
will change due to globa