Global Warming Impacts - Case Studies on the Economy, Human Health, and on Urban and Natural Environments
Year: 2011
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: Vector-borne diseases are among the diseases that have been linked with climate change\n\n(IPCC. 2001). Malaria is probably the deadliest climate sensitive vector-borne disease\n\n(Githeko et al. 2000). About 90% of the 300-500 million cases of the reported malaria cases\n\nworldwide come from Africa. In the late 80s to the 90s, malaria epidemics occurred\n\nfrequently in western Kenya highlands, often taking the population by surprise. The\n\nepidemics were caused by Plasmodium falciparum and transmitted by Anopheles gambiae and\n\nAnopheles funestus. Epidemics were associated with high morbidity and mortality in all age\n\ngroups, with prevalence of the disease rising from about 20% to about 60%. The case\n\nmortality in functional health facilities were estimated at about 7.5% (Githeko and Ndegwa\n\n2001). The malaria transmission system involves a complex interaction between humans,\n\nmosquitoes, the plasmodium parasite, climate and the physical environment.\n\nWarming of the climate is expected to lead to latitudinal and altitudinal temperature\n\nincrease. The temporal and spatial changes in temperature, precipitation and humidity that\n\nare expected to occur under different climate change scenarios will affect the biology and\n\necology of vectors and intermediate hosts and consequently the risk of disease transmission.\n\nThe risk increases because, although arthropods can regulate their internal temperature by\n\nchanging their behaviour, they cannot do so physiologically and are thus critically\n\ndependent on climate for their survival and development (Lindsay and Birley 1996).\n\nTemperature is inversely related to altitude, thus the high-elevation areas in Africa, or\n\nhighlands, generally exhibit low ambient temperature, which restricts the development of\n\nvectors and parasites. Because malaria transmission rate is temperature-dependent, any\n\nfactor that alters the temperature in the highland would reduce the duration of parasite development, larval development and increase the mosquito biting rates, and subsequently increase malaria transmission in the highlands.
Authors: Yan Gao, YA Afrane, Githeko Ak
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2989878003