CLIMATE CHANGE/VARIABILITY
Climate has a significant role in mosquito distribution due to emerging favourable conditions especially rising temperatures. Globally, climate change projections indicate an increase in mean temperatures ranging between 1.8°C and 4°C by the end of the 21st century Climate change is likely to affect human health from impacting food insecurity and malnutrition to increasing in risk areas for vector-borne diseases.
How Climate influence Vector-borne Diseases
Climatic change creates new ecological niches for vectors hence altering temporal and spatial distribution of vector-borne disease. Climate change has been implicated as a contributing factor in dengue globally and the first outbreak of Chikungunya virus in temperate climate. Studies indicate that climate change and variability influence dynamics and potential spatio-temporal distribution of dengue vectors and hence potential of disease endemicity.
Climate sensitive vector-borne diseases
Humans have known that climatic conditions affect epidemic diseases from long before the role of infectious agents was discovered, late in the nineteenth century.
Vector-borne diseases sensitive to changes in climatic conditions include Dengue, Rift Valley Fever (RVF), Chikungunya, Onchocerciasis, Malaria, Zika, Yellow Fever, Filariasis, Leishmaniasis, Japanese Encephalitis etc.
