New Delhi: The heating of planet Earth and change in climate causes the mosquito-breeding season to extend which, leads to an increase in the range of this deadly insect and emergence in locations where the number of mosquitoes had previously decreased, said an expert.
According to news agency PTI’s report, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America already suffer from mosquito-borne diseases. But, mosquitoes are restoring their population in areas such as Europe, warned Avjit Das, R&D Director of Global Pest Control Innovation at Reckitt Benckiser.
How climate is affecting mosquito-borne diseases?
“As temperatures rise and environmental conditions change, mosquito-borne diseases will travel to more locations. The time of mosquito breeding in a specific location is predicted to increase, leading to longer mosquito seasons. If mosquito season in India previously lasted for five months, in ten years, it may increase to six months or even seven months,” Das told PTI.
As per Early Warning System for Mosquito-Borne Diseases (EYWA), cases of malaria have increased by 62%, while cases of dengue, Zika and chikungunya have increased by 700% in Europe.
EYWA is a prototype system that lays emphasis on the critical public health need for prevention and protection against mosquito-borne diseases.
A specialist from World Health Organisation (WHO) highlights the urgent need to re-evaluate the things available and their usage in ensuring efficient response, evidence-based practice, and trained and equipped personnel to against fighting these diseases.
Last year, Journal Exploration in Laboratory Animal published a research paper about how growth in climate factors, such as temperature, elevation in sea levels, precipitation levels, rainfall, wind and duration of sunlight plays a significant role for both vector and host.
Dr Katie Anders, an epidemiologist director of the World Mosquito Program (WMP), explains how the change in climate leads to an increase in the risk of mosquito-borne diseases.
For instance, when households store water in response to drought, it can increase the number of local mosquito breeding sites and disease risk. Land use changes can also drive the migration to cities, increasing the population at risk of explosive outbreaks of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases,” Anders said
Work-in-progress
According to Das, it is mandatory to keep a regular check on changing trends in mosquito-borne diseases to receive an efficient response.
The Mortein Advanced Research Lab in Gurugram, where Das works with a team of PhD researchers, entomologists and other scientists on continuously tracking mosquitoes and diseases caused by them and their evolution.
