Climate change and threat of vector-borne diseases in India: Are we prepared?
Autor(es): Dhiman Ramesh C, Pahwa Sharmila, Dhillon G P S, Dash Aditya P
Resumo: It is unequivocal that climate change is happening - is likely to exp- the geographical distribution of several vector-borne diseases, including malaria - dengue etc. to higher altitudes - latitudes. India is endemic for six major vector-borne diseases (VBD) namely malaria, dengue, chikungunya, filariasis, Japanese encephalitis - visceral leishmaniasis. Over the years, there has been reduction in the incidence of almost all the diseases except chikungunya which has re-emerged since 2005. The upcoming issue of climate change has surfaced as a new threat - challenge for ongoing efforts to contain vector-borne diseases. There is greater awareness about the potential impacts of climate change on VBDs in India - research institutions - national authorities have initiated actions to assess the impacts. Studies undertaken in India on malaria in the context of climate change impact reveal that transmission windows in Punjab, Haryana, Jammu - Kashmir - north-eastern states are likely to extend temporally by 2-3 months - in Orissa, -hra Pradesh - Tamil Nadu there may be reduction in transmission windows. Using PRECIS model (driven by HadRM2) at the resolution of 50 x 50 Km for daily temperature - relative humidity for year 2050, it was found that Orissa, West Bengal - southern parts of Assam will still remain malarious - transmission windows will open up in Himachal Pradesh - north-eastern states etc. Impact of climate change on dengue also reveals increase in transmission with 2 C rise in temperature in northern India. Re-emergence of kala-azar in northern parts of India - reappearance of chikungunya mainly in southern states of India has also been discussed. The possible need to address the threat - efforts made in India have also been highlighted. The paper concludes with a positive lead that with better preparedness threat of climate change on vector-borne diseases may be negated.
Imprenta: Parasitology Research, v. 106, n. 4, p. 763-773, 2010
Identificador do objeto digital: 10.1007/s00436-010-1767-4
Descritores: Chikungunya virus - Pathogenesis ; Chikungunya virus - Viral infections ; Chikungunya Virus - Virus ; Chikungunya virus - Transmission ; Chikungunya virus - Dengue ; Chikungunya virus - Epidemiology ; Chikungunya virus - Public health
Data de publicação: 2010
