Climate Change and Dengue
Colleague Alex Cannera sends this article: Mosquito-Borne Illness Fueled by Climate Change Linked to Spike in Birth Defects in Brazil that begins: As the earth warms and grows more humid, virulent infectious diseases spread by insects are on the rise. Last year, more than 3,000 babies in Brazil were born with a congenital condition of the brain, which may be linked to a mosquito-borne illness called Zika.
Alex writes: Yep. And gang, it’s climate & ocean change. We gotta stop with the mealy-mouthed term “climate change.” Seriously. As far as novel diseases in the US, dengue has reached the Florida Keys. And various other mosquito-borne, tropical diseases are cropping up here.
Thanks, Alex. This is a good example of how climate change is not only something that will affect our children in a few decades, but rather a phenomenon that is happening now. Infectious diseases that are promulgated via mosquitoes or are now reaching the United States. Things like dengue fever are now on our shores.