Disease 'migrates' as world warms
Pastor Dale Morgan
Disease 'migrates' as world warms*
Climate change may cause malaria-carrying mosquitoes to migrate
Climate change is exacerbating the spread of infectious diseases,
according to new research.
Warming temperatures are causing organisms to migrate, Professor Paul
Hunter told a conference in the UK.
In Europe, ocean swimmers have been infected with illnesses normally
associated with warmer waters.
And Professor Hunter warned not enough was being done to monitor the
spread, due to the warming of the Earth, of big killers such as malaria
in Africa.
Professor Hunter, head of health protection at the UK's University of
East Anglia, presented research tracking the movement of disease-causing
organisms in Europe and North America to the Festival of Science in the
UK city of Norwich.
"There are already significant indications of disease burden occurring
in Europe as a result of climate change," he told the conference.
Habitats extend
One organism on the move is Vibrio vulnificus, which can cause severe
illness - and in some cases death - in humans, the research found.
It only grows in warm waters, such as those in the Gulf of Mexico - but
has now been reported as far north as the Baltic Sea in Europe, and
killed one person in Denmark.
In Italy, 100 holidaymakers had been taken ill after coming into contact
with an organism Ostreopsis ovata which had extended its habitat because
of warmer waters, Professor Hunter said.
And Congo Crimea Haemorrhagic Fever - which causes bleeding from the
skin, mouth and nose - had also began to appear in areas where it was
previously unknown, he said.
In Europe we're getting worried about three or four cases of rare
disease associated with the Baltic Ocean - but in Africa we're talking
about potentially many millions of cases of malaria-Professor Paul
Hunter-University of East Anglia
Prof Hunter said the spread of such organisms was probably due to milder
winters rather than warmer summers.
But he emphasised that "the burden of climate change will fall on the
poorest countries in the world, and the tropical countries.
"We actually have very little information about health and infectious
disease statistics for many of these countries.
"In Europe we're getting worried about three or four cases of rare
disease associated with the Baltic Ocean - but in Africa we're talking
about potentially many millions of cases of malaria occurring as a
result of climate change which might not have occurred earlier."
The migration of ticks and midges also caused diseases like malaria to
spread, he said.
The researchers also believe that infectious diseases borne by humans,
such as TB and HIV, are likely to spread more widely as people migrate
to escape drought and other effects of climate change.