All of this is happening because the Earth continues to warm.Mosquitoes are just one of the
“Of course, not all of these viruses are as dangerous as COVID-19. But the number of outbreaks is definitely on the rise,” says Paul De Barraud, Senior Chief Scientist at CSIRO.
Viruses carried by mosquitoes spread
The logic is simple: due to the industries that man created, the Earth's temperature has risen by 1 °C since the pre-industrial period – from 1850 to 1900.At the same time, the number of extreme weather events is increasing.
One of the major problems is transmissionillness. These are malaria, dengue fever, and Japanese encephalitis, all of which are carried by mosquitoes. When Japanese encephalitis appeared in several states of Australia at once, it caused alarm.
“In simple words, the Earthheats up, and carriers of dangerous diseases feel better at high temperatures, ”says a 2020 report published in the journal Nature Immunology.
Researchers notice a trend that aswarming, Japanese encephalitis begins to spread to areas where the virus has never been observed. Most people do not experience symptoms, but about 1% develop a fever and headache, and in rare, severe cases, this can cause swelling of the brain.
“Increased rainfall leads to flooding and creates favorable conditions for vectors of Japanese encephalitis,” says Dr. De Barro.
Also, intermediate carriers of the virus - waterfowl and wild pigs - feel better in a humid climate. Therefore, the number of sources of the virus is growing.
This is what scientists have been warning about.at least 20 years ago. This information is now confirmed by the world's leading climatological body - the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Its representatives found that the prevalence of vector-borne diseases is already on the rise and may worsen.
There are other factors that affectthe spread of any disease, such as vaccination, insect control, quarantine, and even agricultural practices. According to scientists, this means that climate change is not the only cause, but the main one.
According to an associate professor at the University of QueenslandNicholas Osborne, under favorable conditions, mosquitoes will live a week longer, because of this, the likelihood that during this time they will bite someone and transmit the virus increases.
Historically, there are certainregions where mosquitoes actively transmit deadly diseases. Now these specific areas are starting to expand. We are talking about the risk of malaria and dengue fever - both diseases kill hundreds of thousands of people around the world every year.
Monkeypox also spread beyond its usual range
Another new virus that has begun to spread actively outside Africa is monkeypox. It causes flu-like symptoms and a characteristic skin rash after person-to-person contact.
And climate change is one of the factors.The level of immunity to poxviruses is declining, so the number of outbreaks is growing, virologists say. Poxviruses or poxviruses are a family of animal viruses. They can infect humans and mammals, including the human variola virus, also called smallpox.
Monkeypox and climate change
An unusual outbreak of monkeypox has spread to 15 countries today. This is a disease that is usually rare outside of Africa.
Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease:microbes pass from animals to humans and then are transmitted from person to person. All evidence suggests that COVID-19 is also of zoonotic origin.
According to a study published in the journal Nature, there are currently 10,000 viruses circulating among wild mammals that can infect humans.
According to the study, the potential of interspeciestransmission increases as climate changes. Also, the risk of infection increases when people enter areas where they interact more with animals that were previously geographically isolated.
“Thus, we have observed that over the past 20There are many more outbreaks associated with zoonotic diseases than before,” says Dr. De Barro. This includes the swine flu pandemic caused by the H1N1 virus, as well as outbreaks of avian flu caused by the H5N1 virus.
One of the key findings of the AprilNature's research was that climate change could easily become a major cause of cross-species transmission of viruses. And this will undoubtedly have a negative impact on human health and the risk of a pandemic.
The authors caution that much of this cross-species exchange of viruses may have already occurred.
Previously, the IPCC predicted that climate change would increase mortality by 250,000 per year. This included deaths from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress from 2030 to 2050.
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