Climate change could shift disease burden from malaria to arboviruses in Africa

Malaria is a long-standing public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, whereas arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) such as dengue and chikungunya cause an under-recognised burden of disease. Many human and environmental drivers affect the dynamics of vector-borne diseases. In this Personal View,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Lancet. Planetary health Vol. 4; no. 9; pp. e416 - e423
Main Authors Mordecai, Erin A, Ryan, Sadie J, Caldwell, Jamie M, Shah, Melisa M, LaBeaud, A Desiree
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Netherlands 01.09.2020
Subjects
Africa - epidemiology
Animals
Arbovirus Infections - epidemiology
Arbovirus Infections - transmission
Arthropod Vectors - physiology
Climate Change
Cost of Illness
Humans
Incidence
Malaria - epidemiology
Malaria - transmission
Mosquito Vectors - physiology
Prevalence
Africa
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Malaria is a long-standing public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, whereas arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) such as dengue and chikungunya cause an under-recognised burden of disease. Many human and environmental drivers affect the dynamics of vector-borne diseases. In this Personal View, we argue that the direct effects of warming temperatures are likely to promote greater environmental suitability for dengue and other arbovirus transmission by Aedes aegypti and reduce suitability for malaria transmission by Anopheles gambiae. Environmentally driven changes in disease dynamics will be complex and multifaceted, but given that current public efforts are targeted to malaria control, we highlight Ae aegypti and dengue, chikungunya, and other arboviruses as potential emerging public health threats in sub-Saharan Africa.
Bibliography:Contributors: EAM and ADL conceived of the study; EAM, JMC, SJR, MMS, and ADL conducted the study; EAM wrote the first draft of the manuscript; all authors revised the manuscript and approved of the final version.
ISSN:2542-5196
2542-5196
DOI:10.1016/s2542-5196(20)30178-9