Plant pandemics: They could be hastened due to deadly and global pathogenic spread

Sub: Sci

Sec: Health

Pathogen/Disease	Impact	Affected Regions	Key Facts
Fusarium Wilt	Pushing bananas to the verge of extinction	Central America, Tropical America, Caribbean, West Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, India	TR4 strain is lethal to over 80% of banana varieties; particularly concerning for East Africa.
Maize Lethal Necrosis	Hits the breadbasket of Africa; causes up to 100% yield loss	Kenya Tanzania Malawi	Caused by a combination of MCMV and SCMV viruses; no treatment; spreads rapidly.
Coffee Leaf Rust	Puts a dent in export earnings; causes 35-50% yield loss	Ethiopia Mexico Brazil Guatemala	A surge in incidence; moving from lowland to highland regions; significant impact on coffee export revenues.
Cassava Brown Streak	Creating hunger trap; significant decline in export earnings	Eastern Africa Central Africa Southern Africa	Disease spreading aggressively; infects 97% of plants; linked to food insecurity and malnutrition.
Late Blight	Persistent threats to potato and tomato crops; can cause total crop failure	India Mexico Global	Originated in Mexico; longstanding outbreaks in India; major global food security threat.
Citrus Tristeza Disease	Economically damaging; eradicated significant orange tree populations	Argentina Brazil South Africa West Africa California	The virus caused the pandemic in the citrus industry; 75% of orange trees in Sao Paolo were eradicated; spread globally via infected plants.

Source: DTE