A large-scale study on the health effects of global warming warns of the risk of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika outbreaks even in developed countries.
Since 2016, a group of international institutions and researchers have annually analyzed the impact of climate change on global health, measuring it through 44 indicators. All are worsening, according to the latest edition of this study — The Lancet Countdown — released this Thursday. Among the dangers detected is the increasing incidence of certain infectious diseases historically linked to tropical climates. “Although socioeconomic development, public health interventions, and advances in medicine have reduced the global burden of infectious disease transmission, climate change could undermine eradication efforts,” the scientists warn.
The study points out that « the possibility of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika outbreaks is growing in countries with a very high Human Development Index, including European countries. » « The risk of malaria infections is also increasing in colder mountainous areas of countries with a low Human Development Index, » the experts note. Additionally, « the northern coasts of Europe and the U.S. are becoming more favorable for bacteria that cause gastroenteritis, severe wound infections, and sepsis. » In countries with more limited resources, climate change “threatens decades of progress towards controlling or eliminating these diseases.”
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