The Impact of Climate Change on Wildlife Health, Spreading Vector-Borne Diseases and Implications for Ecosystem Conservation and Public Health

Abstract

The article discusses the impacts of climate change on disease-carrying animals, including malaria, dengue, the Zika virus, and Lyme disease. An increase in global temperatures and changes in rainfall are expanding breeding grounds for mosquitoes, ticks and sand flies, which has led to an increase in the spread of diseases, as shown in a recent review of the literature. Warmer temperatures promote faster reproduction, shorten the time needed for a pathogen to be developed, and extend the ability of vectors to occupy areas that have not previously been impacted by diseases that are transmitted by vectors, such as malaria. Additionally, the paper explores how climate change is impacting wildlife populations by altering habitats and increasing the likelihood of zoonotic disease transmission from wildlife to humans. There are also alterations in rain patterns that create new sources of breeding parents or lead to movement of a vector from an existing habitat to search for a more suitable one. Therefore, it is important to understand how climate change impacts vector biology and how faster movement of vectors will change the way we treat and respond to the emerging spread of diseases. The proposed methodology will consist of a combination of literature reviews, literature reviews, case studies, and climate change atmospheric models, which provide a more accurate means to study and identify how climate change has changed the geographic distribution of diseases caused by vector borne pathogens. These findings demonstrate that climate change is significantly contributing to the distribution of disease, particularly in low and middle-income countries, where public health systems are mostly unprepared for the impending threats. The paper concludes by highlighting the urgent need to employ combined mitigation strategies to combat climate change and to support population health responses. Such a plan must encompass improved disease surveillance and the provision of better healthcare facilities, as well as proactive measures to control vectors and mitigate the increasing risk of vector-borne disease posed by climate change.