Fire-Driven Land Cover Change and Zoonotic Disease Risk in African Landscapes.

ABSTRACT: Land use and land cover (LULC) change-especially habitat disruption-has long been linked to zoonotic disease emergence, yet direct empirical evidence remains limited. Using new spatially disaggregated data, this study offers the clearest evidence to date that fire-linked vegetation loss significantly increases zoonotic risk in forest landscapes, but not in agricultural or other-use areas. Monthly vegetation anomalies, captured via NDVI deviations, are tracked across landscape types. A quasi-experimental mediation design estimates the indirect effect of fire on outbreaks through vegetation loss. Results show that in forests, fire-driven vegetation decline is associated with increased outbreak rates, while no significant effects appear in agricultural or other zones. Fires-including slash-an

SUBMITTER: Koren O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12628441 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature