Return of the Population Growth Factor
In "Science" today is an article on potential population overgrowth in Niger [Science 315, 1501 (2007); Martha Campbell, et al.] which should cause all of us in public health to think about the unintended consequences of interfering in disease without looking at the population effects of such interference. If we wipe out a disease so that the resulting population overgrowth results in deaths from famine, did we do well?