Vector-borne illnesses, an indication of climate change?

Health authorities have expedited actions to contain the soaring dengue and chikungunya cases.

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According to National Dengue Control Programme Director Dr. Sudath Samaraweera, the same mosquito is responsible for both illnesses. As a preventive measure, a mosquito prevention week had been declared from 19-24 May.

But such ad hoc interventions alone may not help to curb the spread of vector-borne illnesses such as dengue and chikungunya. This is mainly due to the fact that these mosquitos adapt to changing environments and recent studies indicate that vector-borne illnesses would experience a spike in the face of climate change.

Global studies conducted to draw possible links between dengue transmission and climate change indicate that climate strongly influences dengue transmission because it modulates several physical and behavioural traits of mosquitoes such as adult lifespan, aquatic developmental rates, viral incubation period and biting rate, thereby altering a mosquito’s physiological potential to transmit the virus to new hosts.

Rising temperatures can allow vectors like mosquitoes and ticks to survive and thrive in areas where they were previously unable to, expanding their geographic range. Changes in rainfall patterns can affect the availability of breeding habitats for mosquitoes, leading to increased or decreased populations in certain regions.