# How the Decline of Indian Vultures Led to Half a Million Human Deaths 🦅

**URL:** <https://onehack.st/t/how-the-decline-of-indian-vultures-led-to-half-a-million-human-deaths/288064>\
**Category:** News & Articles\
**Tags:** technology\
**Created:** [August 1, 2024, 3:45am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/how-the-decline-of-indian-vultures-led-to-half-a-million-human-deaths/288064 "2024-08-01T03:45:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![TheJoker](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/thejoker/32/22660_2.png) [@TheJoker](https://onehack.st/u/TheJoker)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 3:45am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/how-the-decline-of-indian-vultures-led-to-half-a-million-human-deaths/288064/1 "2024-08-01T03:45:07Z")

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**Summary:**

1. **Vulture Population Crash** : India’s vulture population, once 50 million strong, plummeted to near zero in the mid-1990s due to diclofenac, a painkiller for cattle that is fatal to vultures, causing kidney failure.

2. **Consequences on Public Health** : The decimation of vultures, nature’s sanitation service, allowed deadly bacteria and infections to proliferate from untreated carcasses, leading to approximately 500,000 human deaths over five years, as per a study published in the American Economic Association journal.

3. **Ecological Importance** : The study highlights the critical role vultures play in removing dead animals that contain bacteria and pathogens, underscoring the broader impact of wildlife conservation on human health and ecosystem stability.