Climate change influences infectious diseases both in the Arctic and the tropics: joining the dots

Abstract

Climate change is incontestably a phenomenon of global causes and impacts. However, as much as the contribution of different regions and countries to climate change differs, as much differ the impacts. This paper examines the current and potential impact of climate change on infectious diseases in regions that could not be more different: the Arctic and the tropics (The Arctic is the area north of the Arctic Circle (66.6°N), while the tropics lie between the Tropic of Cancer (23.4°N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.4°S)). Despite obvious differences in environmental and socio-economic contexts, there are commonalities between these areas, both in the mechanisms through which climate change influences disease transmission and in the adaptation responses health systems can and should mount. We hope that the lessons in this comparison can be distilled both by policy makers and researchers in both regions. The purpose of this article is ‘to join the dots’ and thus stimulate discussion. Inevitably, the different dots (issues) themselves cannot be elaborated on in detail here. For this, we refer the interested reader to a wide-ranging list of references.

(Published: 11 November 2009)

Citation: Global Health Action 2009. DOI: 10.3402/gha.v2i0.2106