Science Source
Systematic Assessment of the Climate Sensitivity of Important Human and Domestic Animals Pathogens in Europe
- States that climate change is expected to threaten human health via its effects on infectious diseases, potentially changing their spatial distributions, affecting annual/seasonal cycles, or altering disease incidence and severity
- States that climate sensitivity of pathogens is a key indicator that diseases might respond to climate change, but the proportion of pathogens that is climate-sensitive, and their characteristics, are not known
- Systematically reviews literature on the climate sensitivity of European human and domestic animal infectious pathogens, and the characteristics associated with sensitivity
- Finds that:
- Sixty-three percent of pathogens were climate sensitive
- Protozoa and helminths, vector-borne, foodborne, soilborne and waterborne transmission routes were associated with larger numbers of climate drivers
- Zoonotic pathogens were more climate sensitive than human- or animal-only pathogens
- Results help prioritize surveillance for pathogens that may respond to climate change
