Abstract
Combustion of fossil fuels and human activities has led to sharp increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These climate changes have tremendous effect on prevalence of zoonotic diseases. The changes in climate may increase the insect vectors, prolong transmission cycles or increase the importation of vectors or animal reservoirs. It may also have an adverse effect on biodiversity, distribution of animals and microflora which may lead to emergence of zoonotic disease outbreaks. A historical perspective on major vector-borne diseases such as arboviral encephalitides, dengue fever and Rift Valley fever, Lyme disease, West Nile virus, malaria, plague, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and dengue fever have been shown to have a distinct seasonal pattern and in some instances their frequency has been shown to be weather sensitive. Because of the sensitivities of the vectors and animal hosts of these diseases to climactic factors, climate change-driven ecological changes such as variations in rainfall and temperature could significantly alter the range, seasonality and human incidence of many zoonotic and vector-borne diseases. The evolution of emerging zoonotic diseases globally during the period 1996 to 2007 was Ebola haemorrhagic fever, Rift Valley fever, avian influenza H5N1, plague and Nipah virus. Whereas, bird flu and swine flu like diseases are still creating havoc for human and animal health worldwide. It is a today’s and tomorrow’s demand that interdisciplinary communication between health professionals, veterinarians, environmental scientists, ecologists, geographers and economists seeking to understand climate change will be key to protecting people in India and worldwide against these threats. Rigorous cross-disciplinary studies using a variety of methodological tools will enable us to predict the transmission dynamics of diseases under different climate scenarios and estimate the cost-effectiveness of mitigation strategies. In this text some of important diseases which are dependant on global warming and climate changes have been discussed taken for and can change their prevalence rate is considered for discussion.
Highlights
Combustion of fossil fuels and human activities has led to sharp increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
Global climate change is inevitable and the combustion of fossil fuels has resulted in a build-up of greenhouse gases within the atmosphere, causing unprecedented changes to the earth’s climate
Human activities have caused a sharp increase in greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane in the atmosphere
Summary
Climate change and extreme weather events have an adverse effect on biodiversity, distribution of animals and microflora, all of which may increase the likelihood of emergence of zoonotic agents and infectious disease outbreaks. The emergence of the new cholera strain O:139 and outbreaks of West Nile virus, Rift Valley fever and Dengue fever in new geographical areas have been linked with the El Nino oscillation. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is transmitted from sheep to cattle and from cattle to human beings in the form of the new variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease nvCJD as a consequence of human action. The spread of the West Nile virus in the United States in recent years may be linked to global warming and may have implications for other vector-borne diseases. A historical perspective on major vector-borne diseases such as arboviral encephalitides, dengue fever and Rift Valley fever may be considered. The Ebola haemorrhagic fever, Rift Valley fever, avian influenza H5N1, plague and Nipah virus are examples of newly emerging zoonotic diseases. The true burden of zoonoses is difficult to estimate due to underreporting, misdiagnosis, insufficient laboratory diagnostic facilities and lack of awareness among the public and health professionals
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