Climate Change and Infectious Diseases

From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, and increase pests and opportunities for malnutrition, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding and water-borne diseases, the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Climate change and infectious disease have a complex and dynamic relationship. While climate change itself does not directly cause infectious diseases, it can influence the distribution, prevalence, susceptibility, and transmission dynamics of infectious diseases. Zoonotic transmission in particular is linked to increasing contact between human and wild animal populations, often a result of poor natural resource management (e.g. deforestation, poor waste management practices, industrial food production, and urbanization). Zoonotic transmission events are responsible for all recent major global pandemics (with major economic, social, and health implications), and with recent global trends, the future is likely to bring more global pandemics unless we address the environmental side of zoonotic pandemic ignition and the human habits and behaviors that lead to environmental degradation.

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Meet the climate change and infectious diseases team

Senior Policy Communications Officer

David Muruaru

Senior Analyst

Cynthia Mbabazi

Talent Officer

Ayo Adeloye

Senior research specialist, CREME

Mario Schmidt

Through the Behavioral Lens

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