Impact of climate change and biodiversity collapse on the global emergence and spread of infectious diseases

Abstract

The reality of climate change and biodiversity collapse is irrefutable in the 21st century, with urgent action required not only to conserve threatened species but also to protect human life and wellbeing. This existential threat forces us to recognise that our existence is completely dependent upon well‐functioning ecosystems that sustain the diversity of life on our planet, including that required for human health. By synthesising data on the ecology, epidemiology and evolutionary biology of various pathogens, we are gaining a better understanding of factors that underlie disease emergence and spread. However, our knowledge remains rudimentary with limited insight into the complex feedback loops that underlie ecological stability, which are at risk of rapidly unravelling once certain tipping points are breached. In this paper, we consider the impact of climate change and biodiversity collapse on the ever‐present risk of infectious disease emergence and spread. We review historical and contemporaneous infectious diseases that have been influenced by human environmental manipulation, including zoonoses and vector‐ and water‐borne diseases, alongside an evaluation of the impact of migration, urbanisation and human density on transmissible diseases. The current lack of urgency in political commitment to address climate change warrants enhanced understanding and action from paediatricians – to ensure that we safeguard the health and wellbeing of children in our care today, as well as those of future generations.

The impact of climate change and biodiversity loss on the health of children: An ethical perspective

“…Climate change is regressive in its nature. That is, those most vulnerable to the effects of a warming planet with declining biodiversity are least responsible for creating the problem-including (and exemplified by) children (9). Resource-constrained settings are also least able to mitigate the impacts of global warming, while the world's richest nationswho are responsible for most of the cumulative impact of greenhouse gas emissions-have resources to assist in their response (14).…”

“…Most adverse impacts of climate change are concentrated on poorer populations living in low latitudes, where many climatesensitive disease states are prevalent (9,19). The most vulnerable regions are those on the fringe of tropical and subtropical settings where infectious disease risks tend to be compounded by under-resourced health and social security systems, especially for people living in informal settlements with high rates of population growth (Figure 3) (21).…”

“…The second dimension of medical ethics extends into the public health sphere, with consideration of the "greater good, " distributive justice and other utilitarian concepts such as solidarity, reciprocity and altruism. The second-dimension exposes global inequities, particularly the regressive effects of climate change-whereby those most vulnerable and worst impacted are least likely to have driven the deterioration of our planetary health (9). However, our obligation to future generations should also consider intergenerational and reparative justice, altruism, and ecological justice-that is, recognizing the role of earth's lifesustaining ecosystems for the wellbeing of humankind.…”

Wild Animal Migration As a Potential Threat of Introduction of New Viruses into Russia

“…Most emerging human viral diseases (Ebola virus disease, Zika, Lassa fever, Crimean‒Congo hemorrhagic fever, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and the 2019 coronavirus infection (COVID-19) are of zoonotic origin [ 9 , 10 ]. As a rule, pathogenic viruses are associated with certain types of hosts and vectors, and the outbreaks or sporadic cases of diseases they cause in humans are recorded within certain areas of the ranges of reservoir species.…”

Long-term effects of meteorological factors and extreme weather on daily outpatient visits for conjunctivitis from 2013 to 2020: a time-series study in Urumqi, China

“…2019). The effects of weather factors on neurodegenerative pathologies(Bongioanni et al 2021), cardiovascular system diseases(Khraishah et al 2022), and some infectious diseases(Williams et al 2021) have been extensively studied, but there are still fewer studies on the effects of direct exposure to the environment on ocular surface diseases. In a nationwide, population-based, cross-sectional study, Lee et al found that patients with allergic conjunctivitis had increased incidence in May (spring), September (autumn), and the valley in winter(Lee et al 2020).…”