Climate Change is the long term shifts in temperature and weather patterns which are mostly irreversible. It takes hundreds or even millions of years to have a change in climate. However, the ongoing destruction which the human beings have undergone for the so-called unholistic development have led to the accelerated change in the climate. These have led to serious impacts on various factors which in turn are negatively affecting human beings.
Climate Change is a complex phenomenon which is indirectly linked to other factors which it affects. Climate change has resulted in extreme weather conditions which includes extreme rainfalls in some areas and extreme hot temperatures in some other areas. Such rising temperatures and increased precipitation promotes an array of infectious diseases from vector borne, to enteric infections and diarrhea and parasitic diseases. These changing extreme environments serve as the favorable sites for the microorganisms causing the infectious diseases. Earlier, some of the diseases were exclusive to a particular season or to a particular place. But nowadays due to the drastic changes of the environment such diseases have been distributed to new geographical areas.
It is possible that the rise of infectious diseases is directly linked to climate change or there might be an after effect due to the climate change. Considering the flood scenario, developing countries are worst hit during floods. There are no proper flood control measures as well as planning. Under such conditions, it becomes easier for diseases like cholera, Typhoid etc to spread. The collection of stagnant water serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes which aids in the spread of malaria. A link has been found between the waterborne diarrheal diseases like cholera and the increase in sea surface phenomena. Also, in an interesting study carried out by the Chinese Academy of Sciences it is found that due to melting of glacial ice due to global warming, it might expose prehistoric bacteria which might be harmful for the human kind. These unseen bacteria might cause some of the unknown diseases which have no cure at all.
Thus the relationship between climate change and its impact on the spread of disease is complex and rather it involves various factors. What might be the cause of favorable conditions for the transmission of some diseases might not be the favorable conditions for some other diseases. But our health systems need to prepare for the worst. There should be proper research and understanding of the mode of transmission and the proper preventive measures for the same. Since, climate change is an irreversible process, it is necessary to deal with this aspect with newer approaches.
References:
[1] Lipp, Erin K., Anwar Huq, and Rita R. Colwell. "Effects of global climate on infectious disease: the cholera model." Clinical microbiology reviews 15, no. 4 (2002): 757-770.
[2] Microbe, The Lancet. "Climate change: fires, floods, and infectious diseases." The Lancet. Microbe 2, no. 9 (2021): e415.
[3] Wu, Ruonan, Gareth Trubl, Neslihan Taş, and Janet K. Jansson. "Permafrost as a potential pathogen reservoir." One Earth 5, no. 4 (2022): 351-360.
@Jimlee Patowary You have aptly pointed out the worsening situation of floods and the diseases that they give rise to. @Manpa Barman's blog clearly reflects Bhargab's situation from Kamrup in regards to medicine delivery during floods. The situation looks scary now, what future holds is unimaginable!
This is a nice perspective on climate change and infectious diseases. A follow up blog on the after effects of flooding in an area would be nice to have.