Goodin said the reoccurrence of the hantavirus, which re-emerged in the 1990s in United States, is evidence of the delicate balance of ecological systems and the possibility of disease to emerge or re-emerge when those systems are altered. He chose Paraguay to conduct his study because it is one place where there has been significant occurrence of the disease and also because there are several hantaviruses circulating there.

"Even though it is a relatively small country, Paraguay is a country with tremendous ecological contrast," Goodin said.

Goodin attributes the rapid deforestation of Paraguay's rain forest, the Atlantic forest, as a cause for the landscape changes. He said the Atlantic forest is more of a biodiversity hot spot than the more famous Amazon forest. He said the forest is rapidly disappearing because people need the land.

According to Goodin, remote sensing technology also can be used to reduce sickness related to poor water quality, such as diarrhea.

"That is something we can observe with remote sensing," Goodin said. "We can actually look at water bodies; we also can look at the context to see where pollutants in water are coming from. Armed with that kind of knowledge, we can actually suggest how try to eliminate these problems."

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Contact: Doug Goodin
dgoodin@k-state.edu
785-532-3411
Kansas State University
5-Jul-2006