Because one of the main effects of climate change is the increase in average temperatures of the planetThis favors the distribution of contagious species in more places around the world.
Do you want to know how climate change makes contagious diseases spread?
Effects of climate change
Climate change increases the temperatures of the entire planet. For this reason, there are areas whose temperatures were previously lower and there were no suitable conditions for species that spread diseases, such as African mosquitoes, to inhabit and, therefore, there was no danger. However, with rising temperatures, there are areas that They allow mosquitoes to be in them and can spread diseases.
The diseases that are more likely to be spread are those that affect the respiratory systems, due to the changes that are caused in the immune system.
The increase in global temperature increasingly determines the behavior of atmospheric phenomena that cause changes in the physiology of the body and makes people with chronic lung conditions more susceptible to acquiring diseases.
Those most affected usually suffer from asthma, pulmonary emphysema or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Infectious diseases that spread
Since the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is increasing, the lungs are more susceptible to being damaged. This causes a greater reactivity of the organ to diseases and increases the contagion of some of them, such as that caused by the influenza virus.
Therefore, climate change it makes those people who are more susceptible hosts more vulnerable.
When heavy rains, hurricanes, sudden changes in the weather or excessive heat occur, the transmission of certain diseases caused by viruses, bacteria and parasites becomes easier. All these consequences are derived from global warming.
Not only people who are more vulnerable are more easily infected, but all those who are healthy will also be affected, since the immune system will be attacked by the conditions that surround them and that are continuously changing.
When this happens and our environment changes, some variations arise in the habits that make up our way of life. To get an idea, in places where it hardly rains now there are heavy torrential rains and more extreme temperatures. This makes people spend more time at home or indoors, staying with more people, not eating properly, or becoming depressed.
Functioning of diseases
These circumstances that attack the immune system influence its functioning and make you recreate more frequent situations where there is contact with people who carry viruses. Because of this, diseases can spread faster.
In summary, changing people's lifestyles makes it easier for viruses to spread.
In addition to viruses that affect the respiratory system, "vector-borne diseases", that is, those carried by living organisms such as mosquitoes, have their contagious capacity altered. Dengue, Zika or Chikungunya viruses are transmitted by mosquitoes and these, as living organisms, also change their area of activity, forced to migrate due to changes in humidity and temperature.
Climate change not only alters people's way of life, but it also alters flora and fauna. Mosquitoes have increased their population since have been able to expand their range. In places where there were no mosquitoes before, now it is infested with them and they are perfect routes of disease transmission.
The bacteria that are most transmitted are those that do not cause lung damage but that also affect other ways such as leptospirosis. This disease occurs in those who have frequent contact with contaminated animals. Infectious organisms are found in the urine of rats, dogs, and cats and in plants that are contaminated with urine.
As you can see, climate change also affects the transmission of diseases.