Vector Borne Diseases and Climate Change

Abstract

The incidence of emergence diseases including vector borne diseases, water diseases, and some physiologic impairment is considered sensitive to climate. Malaria, leishmaniasis, dengue, and viral encephalitis are among those diseases most influenced by climate. Variation in the incidence of vector borne diseases is associated with extreme weather events and annual changes in weather conditions. Africa in general and Morocco in particular are designated as an area of significant impact by numerous the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and notably susceptible to such drastic climate-related health consequences. Climatic parameter change would directly affect disease transmission by acting on the vector's geographic range, activity, or reproduction and by reduction the period of pathogen incubation. This chapter will discuss the increasing risk of some vector-borne diseases in hazard-prone localities. It further identifies the severe challenges both of health adaptation to climate change by highlighting Moroccan adaptive capacity to such crises.