This article talks about the relation of climate change to viruses spreading causing sickness to people. 2015 was the hottest year in the historical record, with an outbreak in Brazil of a disease transmitted by heat-loving mosquitoes. Scientists say it will take them years to figure that out, and pointed to other factors that may have played a larger role in starting the crisis. These same experts added that the Zika epidemic, as well as the related spread of a disease called dengue that is sickening as many as 100 million people a year and killing thousands, should be interpreted as warnings. These mosquitoes will thrive in warmer climates; therefore, climate change will be a factor in disease outbreaks. The viruses are being transmitted largely by the yellow mosquito. That creature adapted long ago to live in human settlements, and developed a concomitant taste for human blood.
Cities in the tropics, the climate zone most favorable to the mosquito, have undergone explosive growth. This is putting more people at risk. The mosquito lays its eggs in containers of water, of a sort that are especially common in the huge slums of Latin American cities. The poorer countries will suffer more due to infected water supply of the mosquitoes. They do not have water piping, their water just sits in buckets. Water storage near homes is commonplace in areas where Zika has spread rapidly, like the cities of Recife and Salvador in northeastern Brazil. Altogether, dengue killed at least 839 people in Brazil in 2015, a 40 percent increase from the previous year. Dengue is killing more than 20,000 people a year worldwide. Several experts said in interviews that a main reason for the disease outbreaks was most likely the expansion of the number of people at risk, through urbanization, population growth and international travel. They see the changing climate as just another stress on top of a situation that was already rife with peril.
The mosquitoes mostly live on flower nectar, but the female of the species needs a meal of human blood to have enough protein to lay her eggs. If she bites a person infected with dengue, Zika or any of several other diseases, she picks up the virus. Aedes aegypti virus is present across the southern tier of the United States. Brief outbreaks of dengue have occurred recently at the warmest margins of the country, and one is underway in Hawaii but thanks to pervasive window screens and air-conditioning, the risk of disease transmission is far less for most Americans than for people in poorer countries. The mosquito does not thrive in areas with cold winters according to some research. The yellow fever mosquito competes with a cousin, the Asian tiger mosquito, that has also colonized the United States, and is more tolerant of cold weather. In the end, there isn’t much we can do to control global warming but there are steps we can take to try to eliminate these viruses. We are fortunate enough to live in wealth and not suffer like the poorer countries do.
References:
Gillis, Justin. “In Zika Epidemic, a Warning on Climate Change.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Feb. 2016. Web. 25 Feb. 2016.