Effects on Organisms

 

Climate Change and Its Effects on Diseases that Infect Organisms

With the evidence for climate change, the effects on ecosystems, communities, populations and species have begun to receive increasing attention. Our focus is on disease and how the diseases that affect floral and human animals have the capacity to change under predicted climatic models. Herein, we overview past and current research focusing on the effects that climate change will have on the spread of disease.

How may climate changes affect disease?

Infectious diseases that are vector-borne or transmitted directly by pathogens have the capacity to be most affected by temperature changes. Pathogen-induced and vector-borne diseases show distinct seasonal patterns which suggest that they are weather sensitive (Gubler 2001). In addition, genetic diseases could also be exacerbated by changes in weather, atmosphere and temperature.

The impact of disease may change with global warming due to more favorable conditions for pathogen development and higher and or faster migration and adaptation potentials in pathogens than in plants, animals or humans (Bergot 2005). My aim is to present an overview of studies that have researched the possible affects of climate change on diseases that affect various organisms in order to show the possible impact of climate change on disease. This area of research is important to conserving our floral (and faunal) ecosystems while protecting human health within the existing global and local climatic changes occurring.