Abstract
The Mediterranean region is vulnerable to climatic changes. A warming trend exists in the basin with changes in rainfall patterns. It is expected that vector-borne diseases (VBD) in the region will be influenced by climate change since weather conditions influence their emergence. For some diseases (i.e., West Nile virus) the linkage between emergence andclimate change was recently proved; for others (such as dengue) the risk for local transmission is real. Consequently, adaptation and preparation for changing patterns of VBD distribution is crucial in the Mediterranean basin. We analyzed six representative Mediterranean countries and found that they have started to prepare for this threat, but the preparation levels among them differ, and policy mechanisms are limited and basic. Furthermore, cross-border cooperation is not stable and depends on international frameworks. The Mediterranean countries should improve their adaptation plans, and develop more cross-sectoral, multidisciplinary and participatory approaches. In addition, based on experience from existing local networks in advancing national legislation and trans-border cooperation, we outline recommendations for a regional cooperation framework. We suggest that a stable and neutral framework is required, and that it should address the characteristics and needs of African, Asian and European countries around the Mediterranean in order to ensure participation. Such a regional framework is essential to reduce the risk of VBD transmission, since the vectors of infectious diseases know no political borders.
Highlights
According to the recent IPCC report [1], the climate system warming is clear and unequivocal. climate change is a complex phenomenon, it is well established that it influences the emergence of vector-borne diseases (VBDs) such as malaria, West Nile fever or dengue [2,3,4,5,6].VBDs are dynamic systems with complex ecology, which tend to adjust continually to environmental changes in multifaceted ways
In order to deal with these potential health threats and before the VBD develop into regional outbreaks, Mediterranean countries must develop national adaption policy, which include strategic response systems in order to be effective
The Mediterranean region is vulnerable to climatic changes
Summary
According to the recent IPCC report [1], the climate system warming is clear and unequivocal. With significant gaps in the socio-economic levels among the Mediterranean countries, between the North (Europe) and South (Africa), together with population density and increased water demand, the vulnerability of the region under changing climatic conditions is increasing. Linkages with the recent climatic fluctuations in Mediterranean countries have already been proved [11,20], for others, projections (e.g., of the WHO) indicate that among other factors, climatic suitability for the vectors will increase in new regions as a result of climate change [21,22,23,24]. The main vector-borne diseases, transmitted by mosquitoes and potentially influenced by the changing climate in the Mediterranean basin, are: 2.1. The anomalous temperatures in July were identified as one of the main risk factors
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