Impact of climate change on human infectious diseases: Empirical evidence and human adaptation

Abstract

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in weather conditions and patterns of extreme weather events. It may lead to changes in health threat to human beings, multiplying existing health problems. This review examines the scientific evidences on the impact of climate change on human infectious diseases. It identifies research progress and gaps on how human society may respond to, adapt to, and prepare for the related changes. Based on a survey of related publications between 1990 and 2015, the terms used for literature selection reflect three aspects--the components of infectious diseases, climate variables, and selected infectious diseases. Humans' vulnerability to the potential health impacts by climate change is evident in literature. As an active agent, human beings may control the related health effects that may be effectively controlled through adopting proactive measures, including better understanding of the climate change patterns and of the compound disease-specific health effects, and effective allocation of technologies and resources to promote healthy lifestyles and public awareness. The following adaptation measures are recommended: 1) to go beyond empirical observations of the association between climate change and infectious diseases and develop more scientific explanations, 2) to improve the prediction of spatial-temporal process of climate change and the associated shifts in infectious diseases at various spatial and temporal scales, and 3) to establish locally effective early warning systems for the health effects of predicated climate change.

The Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture and Health Sectors in Tanzania: A review

“…This includes the basic elements of good health such as adequate food, clean air, safe water, adequate shelter, and health environment (Hulme et al 2001). Climate change further impacts on health of people by multiplying the present health problems (Wu et al 2016). Strong weather associated with heavy rainfall, landslides and floods destroy the infrastructures of health care services infrastructure and hence affect the health sector (URT, 2005; Yanda, 2005).…”

“…On the other hand, IPCC (2001) describes a climate change as a change of climate which is attributed either directly or indirectly to anthropogenic activities that alter the global atmosphere composition and which is in addition to observed natural climate variability over comparable time periods. It is a global problem that defies and threatens global sustainable development, economy, food security, biodiversity, agriculture, human health and water availability as shown in Brown and Crawford (2008), Enfors Wu et al 2016). All these activities produce high emission levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) which include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) (Brown et al 2007;IPCC, 2007;Mwakisunga et al 2012).…”

“…It has been indicated that, climate change takes place in the context of developmental stresses, poverty, food shortage, drought, outbreaks of infectious diseases, environmental change and land degradation (Brown and (Levira, 2009;URT, 2007). Its impact also accelerates food shortage, poverty, deforestation and forest degradation, poor livelihoods and occurrence of infectious diseases (Hatibu, 2003;NAPA, 2005;Wolbring, 2009;Wu et al 2016). The poor and rural communities are particularly chiefly vulnerable owing to their complete dependence on subsistence agriculture and forests resources coupled with limited capacity to adapt to climate change (Brown et al, 2009).…”

Thwack of Worldwide Weather Transformation on Vector and Vector-Borne Parasitic Infections

“…All countries should make polices for serious attempts to mitigate global warming [13]. The following adaptation measures are recommended: 1) to go beyond empirical observations of the association between climate change and infectious diseases and develop more scientific explanations, 2) to improve the prediction of spatial-temporal process of climate change and the associated shifts in infectious diseases at various spatial and temporal scales, and 3) to establish locally effective early warning systems for the health effects of predicated climate change [43,44]. Outlining improvement and adaptation measures can be used specifically in the livestock sector to minimize the impacts of climate changeassociated livestock diseases [45].…”

Introduction of a Bayesian Network Builder Algorithm - Personalized Infectious Disease Risk Prediction

“…The environment is represented by the user location and climate, including weather and season. Both environment and climate have been proven to have specific roles in boosting or limiting certain pathogens (Fisman, 2008) (Monath & Vasconcelos, 2015) (WHO, 2003) (Wu, et al, 2016) (Yi, et al, 2014). For example, children below five years old or male adolescents or soldiers who live in Indonesia or any countries between 30 o N and 30 o S are at twice the risk for Tuberculosis in summertime than others (Wertheim, et al, 2012).…”