Forest ecosystems and infectious diseases-complex interaction

Forested surface areas have increased in temperate regions and significantly decreased in tropical regions as a result of deforestation. These processes alter the links between forests and human health. The likelihood of catching certain diseases is connected with the frequency or intensity of human presence but also with two other categories of phenomena: Degradation of forest ecosystems and changes in the composition of com_munities of species, both in temperate forests (e.g. Lyme’s disease) and tropical forests (e.g. Ebola virus or buruli ulcer). A better understanding of the links between forests and infectious diseases requires multi9udisciplinary research that encompasses human behaviour, the epidemiology of epidemics and the ecology of pathogens, hosts and vectors. © AgroParisTech, 2020.