114 A Warming World Expands The Range of Deadly Disease

When most of us think of climate change, we think of global warming - that everything's getting hotter. We also know that this is a simplification. Other climate features, like rainfall and humidity, change as well. While the term global is used, there's considerable variation from one geographic area to another with respect to what kinds of changes are happening. An important, but often overlooked, aspect of climate change is its influence on infectious disease. In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Luis Escobar discuss what these diseases are, how we can see a growth in the bacteria that are directly influenced by climate, and how different elements play a role in the rate and spread of these diseases.

 Key Takeaways:

• We know that there are many types of bacteria that are directly influenced by climate because when temperature in the water increases, the number of bacteria increases.
• We can use chlorophyll to measure the changes in the color in the oceans, lakes, or rivers. We can use satellite data to track changes in chlorophyll which is important as climate change is occurring globally.
• The distribution of disease vectoring insects and their pathogens changes with global warming.
• Climate, local policy, and culture can all play different roles in how disease spreads and grows throughout the world. 

"Mosquitos are the most lethal animals and kill more people than any other animal in the world. Mosquitos transmit many diseases, including malaria, dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, zika, chikungunya, and filariasis." —  Dr. Luis Escobar

Connect with Dr. Luis Escobar:

Professional Bio: https://www.globalchange.vt.edu/dr-luis-escobar/   

Connect with Therese:

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

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