Warmer Temperatures Increase Malaria Cases
March 7, 2014
Warmer temperatures, associated with global warming, are causing malaria to become more common at higher altitudes, according to a report in the latest issue of the journal Science. A study of malaria in the highlands of Africa and South America by an international team of scientists found that generally higher temperatures in the future may well lead to millions of additional people exposed to the mosquito-borne disease.
Malaria, a disease common in tropical and subtropical regions, is caused by infection with parasites called Plasmodia. The parasites are one-celled organisms called protozoans. They are transmitted to human beings through the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito.
“The impact in terms of increasing the risk of exposure to disease is very large,” stated the lead author of the study, Mercedes Pascual of the University of Michigan. Pascual noted that in the past, higher altitudes provided protection against this devastating disease because both the malaria parasite and the mosquito that carries it do not thrive in cooler air.
Malaria parasites appear in pink and blue in a false-color image. (c) CNRI/SPL from Photo Researchers
Pascual and her team studied densely populated areas in the highlands of Colombia and Ethiopia, where scientists have kept detailed records of both temperature and malaria cases from the 1990’s to 2005. The team found that malaria shifted higher into the mountains in warmer years and stayed at lower elevations in cooler years. “We have estimated that, based on the distribution of malaria with altitude, a 1-Celsius-degree (1.8-Fahrenheit-degree) rise in temperature could lead to an additional 3 million cases in people under 15 years old,” stated Pascual. Climatologists predict that Earth’s surface temperature could rise by as much as 1 Celsius degree by 2030.
The World Health Organization estimates that there were about 207 million cases of malaria in 2012 leading to approximately 627,000 deaths. Children living in Africa are particularly hard hit by the disease.
Additional World Book articles:
- Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran
- Sir Ronald Ross
- Blood Feeders: Real-Life Vampires (a Special Report)
- The Timeless Scourge of Malaria (a Special Report)
