Author(s): Ben Farmer

How climate change is giving the world’s worst diseases a deadly boost

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Experts predict that continuing changes and shifts in the globe’s weather patterns could heighten the threat posed by humanity’s most dangerous infectious diseases, making this the deadliest fallout of climate change, rather than extreme temperatures or flooding.

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Mozambique’s efforts against malaria, paid for by the Global Fund, have yielded good results in recent decades. At the start of the 21st century, cases in the south of the country used to reach around 600,000 every year. Today, this number stands at 50,000, according to Goodbye Malaria, which carries out spraying in the region.

Yet malaria’s transmission by mosquitoes means it is very directly affected by climate shifts, says Mr Sands. Climate change is already making it more difficult to tackle the infection, which killed 619,000 people in 2021 – the second highest figure in nearly a decade.

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Other deadly infections such as tuberculosis, a bacterial infection spread by coughs and sneezes, may also be more indirectly affected as a result of climate change. If droughts and crop failures force people from their homes into crowded camps, then TB might flourish.

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Country and region Mozambique
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