Why Climate Change Is a Public Health Concern

Climate change is not often viewed as a public health threat, but it can have unexpected consequences on the spread of infectious diseases. As changing temperatures make new areas more hospitable to mosquitos, its can raise the risk of mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue, chikungunya, and zika in areas not usual thought as prone to outbreaks of tropical disease. We spoke to Erin Mordecai, assistant professor of Biology at Stanford University and lead author of a recent study in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases that looks at how climate change may affect the spread of mosquito-borne disease. We spoke to Mordecai about the study, what it means for potential infectious disease outbreaks, and how public health officials and drugmakers in the developed world may need to think differently about neglected tropical diseases.