20 Apr 2022
Setting it Straight: Arboviruses and other infectious disease concerns for a warming planet
Having discussed (#97-98) Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and the mosquito-borne arboviruses, this is a good time to say a little about the likely increase in infectious disease threat level that will come with the progression of anthropogenic climate change. With respect to viruses, the pathogens of most obvious concern are those that multiply in mosquito and tick ‘vector’ species (after feeding on an infected animal or person) then transmit the infection when they take a ‘blood meal’ from us. The defining factor related to climate change here is obviously the environmental temperature sensitivity of the vector species.