Death of bees could sting public health: 5 observations

Public health may be affected if animal pollinators disappear, based on a study in The Lancet, according to an article in Public Radio International.

Here are five observations:

1. About 35 percent of human food relies on the help of pollinators for production. These foods are rich in nutrients.

2. Samuel Myers, MD, senior research scientist as the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a coauthor of the study, said that if pollinators continue to die, humans will start lacking vitamins, leading to sickness and possibly death.

2. The study focused on 224 food types in 156 countries, looking at the consequences for the human population if a 50 percent, 75 percent or 100 percent decline in pollinators occurred.

3. If a 100 percent decline happened, 71 million people globally would experience vitamin A deficiency and 130 million people would experience folate deficiency.

4. The researchers also concluded that 82 percent of the "total burden of disease" from decreasing pollinators was due to declines in that country, meaning that each country should be aware of their own pollinator management.

5. The death of bees and other pollinators could result in hazardous public health consequences.

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