Sir: Global Climate Risk Index (2018) released by German watch, placed Pakistan among 10 countries affected most by climate change. There is growing global consensus that climate change is greatest threat in modern times. One of consequences of climate change in health sector is the increasing likelihood of spreading different vector-borne diseases (VBDs) in new areas of Pakistan.
VBDs are infectious diseases that are transmitted to humans by animals, also called vectors, such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, lice and rodentsetc. The ecology of VBDs is complex, and climate is a major factor that may influence disease transmission cycles and disease occurrence. Climate change may impact the distribution of vectors, depending on whether drier or wetter habitats are more suitable for any particular vector and may allow them to exist where they previously did not.
Moreover, increasing floods and droughts could make Pakistan more at risk for the introduction and establishment of exotic vectors for other diseases such as Anaplasmosis and Lyme disease. Human settlement patterns may get disturbed due to abnormal environmental conditions which might influence disease trends.
Pakistan contributes less than one percent of the world’s greenhouse gases blamed for causing global warming, yet its 210 million people are among the world’s most vulnerable victims of the growing consequences of climate change. Climate change and VBDs interactions are multifaceted; however, Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) and Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (MoNHSRC) should join hands to move beyond these broad generalizations and design policies of individual diseases with respect to specific disease control decisions.
MUHAMMAD UZAIR MUKHTAR
Beijing, China
Published in Daily Times, January 15th 2019.