Climate change spreads infectious diseases

Weather of Arabia - According to an international report issued by the Devex Foundation, climate change poses major health challenges directly and indirectly, as experts and specialists emphasize the effects of climate change and its repercussions on the transmission of infectious diseases, especially viral ones.

As the report indicates, climate causes a change in the transmission patterns of infectious diseases, which enhances the spread of deadly diseases and pandemics, increases the risk of diseases associated with high temperatures, and contributes to the exacerbation of non-communicable health conditions and the deterioration of psychological and mental health, in addition to the negative impact on Maternal and child health.

He pointed out that drought exacerbates the problem of food insecurity and increases the risk of malnutrition, as it may cause increasing difficulties in securing basic human needs such as clean air, drinking water, sanitation services, food, and others.

The impacts of climate change extend to increasing inequalities, undermining long-term economic growth, encouraging migration and insecurity, while contributing to persistent cycles of poverty and conditions of instability in the most vulnerable countries, all of which undermine progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The World Health Organization confirms that climate change poses the greatest threat facing humanity, and warns that if appropriate measures are not taken to confront it, at least 21 million people may lose their lives due to its effects by 2050.

Estimates from the World Bank estimate that climate change will increase the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2030 to an additional 132 million, of whom at least 44 million - or a third of the total - will be due to the negative effects of climate events on health.

Experts and specialists confirmed that climate change directly affects the transmission of infectious diseases to humans and to new areas that were not previously home to them.

They pointed out that climate changes may increase the possibility of the emergence of new viruses linked to rising temperatures. There are viruses that were frozen for hundreds of years, which may thaw due to rising temperatures and be transmitted to an animal host, then transmitted to humans, causing the emergence of new diseases and epidemics.

They stressed that factory smoke and environmental pollution, in addition to the shrinkage of green spaces as a result of cutting down trees and the spread of infrastructure, are all factors that contribute to the spread of viruses, germs and bacteria, creating an environment suitable for the spread of respiratory and skin diseases in particular.

In this context, chest disease specialist and respiratory infection expert Dr. Muhammad Hassan Al-Tarawneh said that there is a close relationship between health and climate, as climate changes directly affect health. Tarawneh points out that climate changes may increase the possibility of the emergence of new viruses related to rising temperatures, leading to the emergence of new diseases and epidemics, and links this to the direct impact on health, and changes in the spread and appearance of viruses in general.

For his part, Executive Director of the Middle East Community Health Network (EMPHNET), Dr. Muhannad Al-Nsour emphasized that there are multiple difficulties arising from the effects of climate on the population of countries affected by wars, which makes climate conditions disastrous, especially in light of the destroyed infrastructure. Al-Nsour pointed out that climate change represents an additional factor that worsens the humanitarian conditions in those countries, causing immediate devastating effects and long-term future problems.

In turn, epidemiologist Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Maani said that the impact of climate increases the risk of infectious diseases and contributes to the spread of thousands of new viruses, which increases the risk of the emergence of infectious diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans.

Al-Maani pointed out that the effects of climate change and the spread of pathogens that infect humans affect the transmission of infectious diseases to humans and extend to new areas that were not previously home to them.

He explained that new studies have indicated that more than 50% of known infectious and communicable diseases are exacerbated by climate change, due to rising temperatures and extreme weather phenomena such as drought, floods, and extreme heat waves.

He added that rising temperatures open the door to the growth of bacteria and the spread of viruses in unfamiliar areas, and also allows disease-carrying insects to reproduce in new environments that they did not depend on.

According to scientific studies, Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Maani confirmed that there is a close connection between the spread of pathogens and climate change in several regions around the world, as viruses, bacteria and fungi cause many cases. Studies have also shown that rising temperatures and climate change increase the ability of bacteria to achieve changes in their genes.

According to estimates by the World Health Organization, the mortality rate ranges between 30% and 60% among those infected with these fungi, which shows the impact of climate change on human immunity and its weakness. Climate change leads to the emergence of new diseases and a weakened immune system.

The organization warned of the spread of dengue fever and other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. Estimates indicate that these diseases are spreading widely as a result of climate change, with expectations of the Zika virus spreading again in the world.

Rising temperatures lead to the emergence of approximately 160 diseases, increasing the transmission of pathogens such as bacteria and mosquitoes.

The report considers that a just transition towards clean energy is necessary to protect people’s health, with a call to support countries in developing health systems to confront climate change and prepare for new threats.

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