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5 Health and Diseases
The warming climate plays an ever-increasing role in influencing the global
emergence, resurgence as well as redistribution of infectious diseases. Many of the
most prevalent infectious diseases and specifically those transmitted by the insects
are quite sensitive to climate variation. The availability of vaccines has significantly
reduced the prevalence of infectious diseases. However, there is evidence to suggest
that climate change may potentially result in a resurgence of some deadly illnesses
on the planet. Many of the common infectious illnesses are often affected by the
variation of climate, but the ones transmitted by insects are usually sensitive. One of
the diseases attributed to climate change is malaria. Malaria is a bacterial infection
that leads to the death of about 429,000 individuals, and 80% of these people are
children under five years (Onyango et al. 2018). Despite this number decreasing,
there are fears that climate change could play a crucial role in helping in the spread
of malaria. Malaria is often transmitted by mosquitoes belonging to the genus
Anopheles that are sensitive to variations in climatic conditions. It mainly requires
moist conditions and temperatures of about 25–28 ◦ C for breeding. The rising global
temperatures may alter the range of Anopheles mosquitoes, and thus facilitate the
spread of malaria.
What makes it conducive for Anopheles mosquitoes to spread in higher
temperatures?
Africa is among the riskiest places, and the continent has been identified as one
of the major hotspots of malaria in the world. It is estimated that 92% of the world’s
deaths attributed to malaria occur in Africa (see Fig. 5.1). However, an increasing
number of scientific studies suggest that climate change could aggravate malaria
issues in Africa. In East Africa, it is predicted that climate change may substantially
expand the numbers of the Anopheles mosquito by the end of the twenty-first
century, thus exacerbating the vulnerability of the disease within the region. This
resonates with findings made by various studies that by 2080, climate change would
result in a substantial increase in malaria transmission in both southern and eastern
Africa (Beier et al. 2008; Altizer et al. 2013; Onyango et al. 2018). Other parts of
the world that will also experience this are Central America, some parts of India,
Nepal, and southern Brazil.
Apart from malaria, dengue fever could also spread further because of climate
change. Studies have also established that climate variability may also impact the
susceptibility of dengue fever and concerns exist about the same being true for
yellow fever, hantavirus as well as Ebola (Kakmeni et al. 2018). There is evidence
showing that climate change may already be changing the distribution of some of
these diseases. Regarding the Ebola virus disease, it is severe and usually fatal.
The virus spreads from wild animals to people and spreads within the population
via a human-to-human transmission (Banwell et al. 2018). The first outbreaks took
place within the grassroots areas of Central Africa, close to the tropical rainforests.
The fatal outbreak was in 2014–2016 in West Africa that occurred in key urban
5 Health and Diseases
The warming climate plays an ever-increasing role in influencing the global
emergence, resurgence as well as redistribution of infectious diseases. Many of the
most prevalent infectious diseases and specifically those transmitted by the insects
are quite sensitive to climate variation. The availability of vaccines has significantly
reduced the prevalence of infectious diseases. However, there is evidence to suggest
that climate change may potentially result in a resurgence of some deadly illnesses
on the planet. Many of the common infectious illnesses are often affected by the
variation of climate, but the ones transmitted by insects are usually sensitive. One of
the diseases attributed to climate change is malaria. Malaria is a bacterial infection
that leads to the death of about 429,000 individuals, and 80% of these people are
children under five years (Onyango et al. 2018). Despite this number decreasing,
there are fears that climate change could play a crucial role in helping in the spread
of malaria. Malaria is often transmitted by mosquitoes belonging to the genus
Anopheles that are sensitive to variations in climatic conditions. It mainly requires
moist conditions and temperatures of about 25–28 ◦ C for breeding. The rising global
temperatures may alter the range of Anopheles mosquitoes, and thus facilitate the
spread of malaria.
What makes it conducive for Anopheles mosquitoes to spread in higher
temperatures?
Africa is among the riskiest places, and the continent has been identified as one
of the major hotspots of malaria in the world. It is estimated that 92% of the world’s
deaths attributed to malaria occur in Africa (see Fig. 5.1). However, an increasing
number of scientific studies suggest that climate change could aggravate malaria
issues in Africa. In East Africa, it is predicted that climate change may substantially
expand the numbers of the Anopheles mosquito by the end of the twenty-first
century, thus exacerbating the vulnerability of the disease within the region. This
resonates with findings made by various studies that by 2080, climate change would
result in a substantial increase in malaria transmission in both southern and eastern
Africa (Beier et al. 2008; Altizer et al. 2013; Onyango et al. 2018). Other parts of
the world that will also experience this are Central America, some parts of India,
Nepal, and southern Brazil.
Apart from malaria, dengue fever could also spread further because of climate
change. Studies have also established that climate variability may also impact the
susceptibility of dengue fever and concerns exist about the same being true for
yellow fever, hantavirus as well as Ebola (Kakmeni et al. 2018). There is evidence
showing that climate change may already be changing the distribution of some of
these diseases. Regarding the Ebola virus disease, it is severe and usually fatal.
The virus spreads from wild animals to people and spreads within the population
via a human-to-human transmission (Banwell et al. 2018). The first outbreaks took
place within the grassroots areas of Central Africa, close to the tropical rainforests.
The fatal outbreak was in 2014–2016 in West Africa that occurred in key urban