Climate Change’s Impact On Parasitic Zoonotic Diseases
This brief conference abstract discusses the impact of climate change on parasitic diseases that can be transmitted between humans and another species (known as “zoonotic” diseases). In addition to direct effects due to disrupted ecological balances, socioeconomic impacts of climate change can promote transmission of parasitic diseases. Zoonotic conditions known to be affected by climate change are listed, and the author calls for more research to identify additional conditions, risk factors, and vectors (carriers), and to develop prevention strategies and treatment protocols.
[Abstract excerpted from original source.}
From last two decades, climate change’s impact on infectious diseases has been recognized as one of the major threats in human and animal health. However in the scope of them, impact of climate change on zoonotic diseases has been largely neglected, particularly those due to parasites. Among the diseases impacted by climate change, parasitic zoonotic diseases due to helminths as well as due to protozoansare susceptible to be modified their epidemiological patterns. Recent studies in South East Asia, Africa and Latin America have evidenced significant impacts of climate change on visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis, american trypanosomiasis or Chagas disease, fasciolasis, cryptosporidiosis,giardiasis, echinococcosis, schistosomiasis, among many others. Probably many other diseases should be listed, but more studies are necessary to evidence the impact of climate change on parasitic zoonotic diseases. Finally, developing appropriate models we furtherly be able to generate early warning systems and better epidemiological surveillance systems for such diseases incorporating climatic data to prevent and mitigate their effects.