Expert warns of a sharp increase in diseases such as dengue and malaria in Europe due to climate change

Once again a scientist has warned about the spread of diseases such as dengue and malaria in northern Europe due to climate change. Professor Rachel Lowe will deliver that message at an international conference.

The earth is warming, and one of the consequences of this is that diseases that usually occur in warmer regions will also become more prevalent in our country. Scientists have warned about this several times in recent months. Examples include dengue – also known as dengue fever – and malaria. These diseases are already increasingly reported in North America, Asia, Australia and Northern Europe.

Rachel Lowe, professor at the Supercomputing Center in Barcelona, ​​now also warns about this. It will be the case in the coming decades, she says The guardian for her presentation at a conference on infectious diseases in Barcelona. “Global warming due to climate change means that the vectors that carry and spread malaria and dengue can find refuge in multiple regions. And this in regions where people are less likely to be immune and health systems are not prepared for it.”

If greenhouse gas emissions and population growth continue as they are now, the number of people living in areas with mosquito-borne diseases will double by the end of the century. “Because climate change is so difficult to tackle, we can expect more cases and possibly deaths from diseases such as dengue and malaria in mainland Europe.”

Dengue occurs mainly in tropical and subtropical regions because cold temperatures kill the larvae and eggs of the mosquitoes that transmit the disease. Because there are now longer warm periods and freezing temperatures less often, the disease has become the fastest spreading mosquito-borne infectious disease in the world. And it is also gaining a foothold in Europe.