Preprint Review Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Climate Change and Emerging Viral Diseases: the Evidence

Version 1 : Received: 28 October 2020 / Approved: 29 October 2020 / Online: 29 October 2020 (09:49:40 CET)

How to cite: Gatherer, D. Climate Change and Emerging Viral Diseases: the Evidence. Preprints 2020, 2020100606. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202010.0606.v1 Gatherer, D. Climate Change and Emerging Viral Diseases: the Evidence. Preprints 2020, 2020100606. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202010.0606.v1

Abstract

Three decades have now passed since the first papers linking climate change to issues in human disease and healthcare. One of the most active topics in this area has been the implication of climate change events, particularly temperature and humidity fluctuations, in the northward spread of vector-borne viruses from more tropical regions into Europe and North America. However, some detailed studies of one such emerging disease, tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEv), have called the connection into question, concentrating the debate on the investigation of precise mechanisms for the spread of viral disease. More recently, firmer statistical correlations have been made between climate variables, the presence of insect vectors and the prevalence of viral disease, particularly for West Nile Virus (WNV). These insights suggest avenues for mechanistic confirmation of the involvement of climate change in other diseases where the connection remains conjectural.

Keywords

virology; emerging viruses; vector-borne diseases; climate change

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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