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According to a new study, half a billion more people could be exposed to mosquito-borne diseases in the next 30 years due to global warming.
Canada and parts of northern Europe could be exposed to the threat. Those present may be in contact with yellow fever, zika, dengue and chikungunya, as well as other emerging diseases.
The study, published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, reveals that humans could prevent the spread of disease-carrying mosquitoes by taking aggressive action to combat global warming.
Sadie Ryan, co-author of the University of Florida, said the study and the maps she produced could help policymakers and health professionals understand where insects and their insects come from. diseases could move.
"As you move into an increasingly hot world, places that get really hot will have all kinds of vulnerabilities with them," Ryan said. "Studies like this are saying, hey, that this is potentially where these things can become a tool in a big toolbox."
Currently, just over six billion people live in climates where both mosquitoes studied can live a month or more each year. But as climate change pushes warm temperatures to the poles, new regions become hospitable.
One of the mosquitoes studied, the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti, thrives in a warmer climate. But another, the tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus, prefer the cooler. The researchers therefore determined what the rise in temperatures would mean at different levels. They discovered that if the world only moderately slows the rise in temperatures, it is possible that both mosquitoes are doing well, which is a headache for climate planners.
Places where people have never contracted the disease could be particularly serious if they are unprepared, Ryan said. In 2016, Zika swept South Florida, threatening pregnant women susceptible to contracting the disease without showing symptoms, but to have children with major birth defects.
People who contract mosquito-borne diseases during their journey may return home and pass them on to local mosquitoes, then spreading them. An expanded range of mosquitoes could improve this process.
"You might not think about looking for mosquito in the Midwest at this point, but what if people come to Chicago?" Ryan said. "Every year we see small pieces of malaria appear in the [US]we see small pieces of dengue springing up. "
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