AU - Epstein, Paul R. AU - Burke, Thomas A. AU - Patz, Jonathan A. T1 - Global climate change and emerging infectious diseases. Zoonotic and vector-borne diseases. Y1 - 1996/1/17. However, a recent report from Morgan Stanley Research shines a light on another potential climate change issue: the spread of infectious disease due to rising temperatures.. Warmer climates create more hospitable environments for disease transmission to occur. The authors wrote: “This rise corresponds to climate anomalies occurring during the 1990s, adding support to hypotheses that climate change may drive the emergence of diseases … Diseases most likely to increase in their distribution and severity have three-factor (agent, vector, and human being) and four-factor (plus vertebrate reservoir host) ecology. Climate change may affect zoonoses (infectious diseases of animal origin that may be transmitted to humans) in 3 ways: it may increase the range or abundance of animal reservoirs or insect vectors, prolong transmission cycles, or increase the importation of vectors or animal reservoirs (e.g., by boat or air) to new regions, which may cause the … Some existing health threats will intensify and new health threats will emerge. Climate change and emerging infectious diseases Paul R. Epstein* Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School, 260 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA ABSTRACT – The ranges of infectious diseases and vectors are changing in altitude, along with shifts in plant communities and the retreat of alpine glaciers. Although most scientists agree that global climate change will influence infectious disease transmission dynamics, the extent of the influence is uncertain. Global climate change has resulted a wide range of impacts on the spread of infectious diseases is a prominent instance due to ‘climate-sensitive’ characterization. Climate change, together with other natural and human-made health stressors, influences human health and disease in numerous ways. Of the two issues, climate change is the more commonly selected threat in eight of 14 countries polled, while five name the spread of infectious diseases as a top threat (the Canadian public is split, with equal shares citing climate change and the spread of disease). The life cycles and transmission of many infectious agents—including those causing disease in humans, agricultural systems, and free-living animals and plants—are inextricably tied to climate (1, 2).Over the past decade, climate warming has already caused profound and often complex changes in the prevalence or severity of some infectious diseases (2–5). This conference session provided an overview of the issues associated with climate change as it relates to the emergence and spread of infectious diseases (Figure 1) (Figure 2). The effects of global climate change on infectious diseases are hypothetical until more is known about the degree of change in temperature and humidity that will occur. Not everyone is equally at risk. AU - Balbus, John M. PY - 1996/1/17. N2 - Climatic factors influence the emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases, in addition to multiple human, biological, and ecological determinants. In seven of the nine European countries surveyed, climate change was most frequently mentioned as a major threat. Across the world, 70% of those polled considered global climate change to be a major threat, while 69% considered the spread of infectious diseases to be a major threat.