This article is about a controversial issue that has been a growing concern over the last decade. It is about the linkage between the overall rising global temperature (commonly known as global warming) and the worldwide rising of spread-range of infectious diseases during the same period. The central thesis of the author, Sylvain Fleury, is that global warming is one of the major, if not the major, causes of this high spread rage of infectious diseases.
A second point deriving from the thesis statement is that the negative effects of global warming, and subsequently, infectious disease spreading is felt much more in developing countries than in developed ones. On the other hand it is industrialized nations with their economic and political policies which are one of the major causes of global warming, and thus, of the spreading of these infectious diseases.
The author, Fleury, begins her article by stating that, in fact, the relationship between climate change and infectious diseases is complicated and controversial.
Anyway she cites a 2006 study by University of Michigan ecologist Mercedes Pascual, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences regarding the issue. This study shows that climate change, in addition to drug and pesticide resistance, changing land use patterns, and human migration, was responsible for the resurgence of malaria (Fleury, 2008, pg. 1).
This study is concentrated to the disease of malaria and around it Fleury constructs her central argument. And there is one major reason for that.
First, the high risk of transmission that humanity is exposed toward this disease. Almost 40% of the global population is under threat of transmission. Malaria has a potential reach to roughly 2.4 billion people on this planet.
“Between 350 and 500 million cases of malaria occur each year, causing more than one million deaths.” (Fleury, 2008, pg. 2)
The second concern that the author raises is that this disease is “not taken very seriously” on a world stage. This is partially due to the fact that most of the cases of malaria occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, in a place at the corners of policy attention. Since the rest of the world, North America, Europe and even Asia are north of this “malaria line”, meaning having colder temperatures, they feel malaria is not a problem that should be much concerned about.
And that is the mistake, according to the author. With the rising of global temperatures these regions will begin to have climate temperatures similar to those where malaria has already thrived. Today, in politics and economics there are many efforts being made trying to curb global warming. Unfortunately there is no acceptable solution in sight. Even if starting today the most drastic measures were to be taken, such as extremely limiting the use of carbon fuels, the earth would continue to warm for several decades.
It is true that some consequences of global warming such as rising sea levels may be unavoidable. But there are some consequences we can deal with. As the author suggests, “We can take measures to soften the impact of habitat expansion for insect-borne infectious diseases” (Fleury, 2008, pg. 3).
The only thing that is in our hand is to start do something about it. First step would be to recognize that this is an issue that affects all of us as human kind and that it is better to start implement the adequate policies to be prepared when these problems start to appear.