As global temperatures have risen in recent decades, so have the number of outbreaks of infectious diseases. SARS, MERS, Zika, West Nile, COVID-19, and now clusters of monkeypox and polio have all recently threatened public health.
Increasing global temperatures mean that the geographic range for many pathogen-carrying animals—including insects like mosquitoes—is expanding rapidly. “As they move around to find better climates, there are more opportunities for viruses to spill over among other mammals, and then from some of those mammals to humans,” says Gigi Gronvall, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. In the same way that highways, planes, and trains connect remote parts of the world, these animals are transporting their microbial payloads into new places.
Tickborne diseases are one example of climate’s impact on human health. With warming temperatures, the habitable environment for ticks is stretching further north, into Canada and even Nova Scotia. Neither place had reported cases of Lyme disease, which is carried by ticks, until 2002.
Understanding these shifting behaviors and changing habitats requires appreciating that the health of one species is intimately tied to the health of all species. Scientists say devoting more resources to understanding how viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens circulate among different animal species is crucial in order to better understand how their behaviors can impact human health.
https://time.com/6204356/infectious-disease-outbreaks-climate-change/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sfmc&utm_campaign=newsletter+brief+default+ac&utm_content=+++20220811+++body&et_rid=207298246&lctg=207298246