[Climate changes and emerging diseases. What new infectious diseases and health problem can be expected?]
- PMID: 19536444
- DOI: 10.1007/s00103-009-0874-9
[Climate changes and emerging diseases. What new infectious diseases and health problem can be expected?]
Abstract
Increasing temperatures, but also other climatic factors, will have an impact on human health. Apart from the direct consequences of extreme weather conditions (e.g., heat-related fatalities), indirect health consequences in the long-term are also of great importance. In addition to a likely increase in allergic diseases and additional complications in the course of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, infectious diseases are of particular interest. In Germany, endemic pathogens, such as hantavirus (with its reservoir in small rodents), tick-borne pathogens (Borrelia burgdorferi, tick-borne encephalitis virus), and certain food- and water-borne pathogens, are of concern. Mild winters favor rodent populations and may result in hantavirus epidemics in the subsequent summer period. Statistical analyses show a significant association between temperature and campylobacter incidence in Germany. An outbreak of rodent-borne leptospirosis among strawberry harvesters enhanced by heavy rainfalls illustrates how weather conditions may influence disease occurrence. Pathogens that are non-endemic in Germany but are imported by humans, vectors, and reservoir animals pose an additional risk to the population. Increasing temperatures improve the conditions for establishment of new vectors and for autochthonous transmission of some pathogens (e.g., chikungunya, dengue, West Nile virus, malaria, or leishmaniasis). Climatic and ecologic conditions in Germany currently do not favor autochthonous outbreaks for most of these pathogens. However, if temperatures increase, as expected, such outbreaks will become more likely. Germany should enhance its research in public health activities in the field of climate change and infectious diseases.
Similar articles
-
Climate changes, environment and infection: facts, scenarios and growing awareness from the public health community within Europe.Anaerobe. 2011 Dec;17(6):337-40. doi: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2011.05.016. Epub 2011 Jun 2. Anaerobe. 2011. PMID: 21664978
-
[Important vector-borne infectious diseases among humans in Germany. Epidemiological aspects].Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz. 2014 May;57(5):557-67. doi: 10.1007/s00103-013-1925-9. Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz. 2014. PMID: 24781913 Review. German.
-
Surveillance of vector-borne diseases in Germany: trends and challenges in the view of disease emergence and climate change.Parasitol Res. 2008 Dec;103 Suppl 1:S11-7. doi: 10.1007/s00436-008-1049-6. Epub 2008 Nov 23. Parasitol Res. 2008. PMID: 19030882
-
Major emerging vector-borne zoonotic diseases of public health importance in Canada.Emerg Microbes Infect. 2015 Jun 10;4(6):e33. doi: 10.1038/emi.2015.33. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2015. PMID: 26954882 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Climate change and animal diseases in South America.Rev Sci Tech. 2008 Aug;27(2):599-613. Rev Sci Tech. 2008. PMID: 18819680 Review.
Cited by
-
From niche topic to inclusion in the curriculum - design and evaluation of the elective course "climate change and health".GMS J Med Educ. 2023 May 15;40(3):Doc31. doi: 10.3205/zma001613. eCollection 2023. GMS J Med Educ. 2023. PMID: 37377570 Free PMC article.
-
Metagenomic deep sequencing obtains taxonomic and functional profiles of Haemaphysalis longicornis that vary in response to different developmental stages and sexes.Exp Appl Acarol. 2021 Feb;83(2):285-300. doi: 10.1007/s10493-020-00582-3. Epub 2021 Jan 1. Exp Appl Acarol. 2021. PMID: 33386513
-
Heat-Related Mortality.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2020 Sep 11;117(37):603-609. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2020.0603. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2020. PMID: 33263529 Free PMC article.
-
Combination of microbiome analysis and serodiagnostics to assess the risk of pathogen transmission by ticks to humans and animals in central Germany.Parasit Vectors. 2019 Jan 7;12(1):11. doi: 10.1186/s13071-018-3240-7. Parasit Vectors. 2019. PMID: 30616666 Free PMC article.
-
Genome scaffolding and annotation for the pathogen vector Ixodes ricinus by ultra-long single molecule sequencing.Parasit Vectors. 2017 Feb 8;10(1):71. doi: 10.1186/s13071-017-2008-9. Parasit Vectors. 2017. PMID: 28179027 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical