Climate change is altering the planet in unprecedented ways, making ecosystems change, altering weather patterns, and changing human health. Malaria, a highly important global health issue, is among the diseases most likely to be affected by changes in climate. As the world warms up and weather patterns change, extreme events that impact us all become more likely. This article, discusses the impact of climate change on malaria and outlines strategies that will help us adapt to these important changes.
Understanding the Relationship Between Climate Change and Malaria
1. Climate Change and Malaria Transmission Dynamics
Malaria is transmitted through the bitesles mosquitoes. The cycle between climate and malaria transmission is governed by a delicate balance of factors:
- Temperature: Malaria parasites, particularly Plasmodium falciparum, have a narrow temperature range within which they develop within the mosquito vector. Higher temperatures likewise speed up the P falciparum’s development, potentially leading to higher transmission rates. But temperatures that are too high and too cold both inhibit mosquito survival and parasite development.
- Rainfall: There’s a classic inverse U-shaped relationship at play, with increased rainfall providing more breeding sites for mosquitoes – but too much rainfall can lead to flooding, which might, in turn, remove these breeding sites, while too little rainfall can result in droughts and less water being available for breeding purposes.
- Humidity: High relative humidity is essential for survival and for mosquito activity (high-humidity nights are best for mosquitoes). The changing nature of humidity can influence malaria vectors. Local humidity changes affect mosquitoes and their susceptibility to changes in climate.
Extreme weather events (including floods and droughts) can affect the spatiotemporality of malaria by altering mosquito breeding sites and human behavior for example, elevating malaria risk in floodwaters or reducing rice yield and migration during droughts.
2. Geographical Shifts in Malaria Risk
Climate change could thus do more than increase the intensity and consequences of malaria; in fact, it can also shift where malaria is found. As a result of rising temperatures, some areas may become suitable for malaria, while simultaneously reducing its suitability in others.
- Dispersal into new areas: with warming temperatures and changing rainfall levels, malaria-carrying mosquitoes can move to higher altitudes and further north and south of their previously established patterns. This has already been reported in East Africa and the Himalayas, where cases of malaria are present at much higher elevations than at any time before.
- Reduced Malaria Zones: Greater temperatures and other climatic variables could make a given environment less suitable for malaria, with an overall reduction in malaria cases, yet without rising to the level of elimination. Assuming no human movement and no resistance to existing drugs, mild climatic changes could tomorrow make modern Australia as malaria-free as modern Sweden.
3. Vulnerable Populations and Health Impacts
People living in low-income regions with limited healthcare infrastructure and anti-malarial resources are particularly vulnerable to climate change.
- Increased health risks: people in developing countries can face increased risk of malaria infection with changes in the patterns of malaria transmission, and reduced access to health care reduces their ability to manage and control the disease.
- Economic Impacts: Malaria places a heavy burden on the economies of affected communities, leading to significant increases in the economic costs of treatment and control. As malaria risks change and potentially rise, especially due to issues like parasite and insect resistance weakening advances in control measures such as bed nets, these costs can escalate further.
Adaptation Strategies to Address the Impact of Climate Change on Malaria
1. Enhanced Surveillance and Monitoring
Surveillance and monitoring are especially key to tracking and understanding changes in malaria patterns, and also facilitating responses to outbreaks.
- Integrated surveillance systems: Integrated surveillance systems that use data from the climate directly, and in combination with malaria cases, can help anticipate and manage potential outbreaks: such as the warning sign of a potential outbreak would be if one noticed that the climate data is tracking with the scientific-anthroponotic malaria transmission model (what scientists used in the case above) but the vector-surveillance data is less indicative. This mismatch is because rains and the appropriate temperatures are occurring, but mosquitoes are not finding enough blood to obtain the infective forms of the malaria parasite because people have been less exposed to bites due to lower population density.
- Data Sharing and Collaboration: Concerted efforts by governments, research institutions, and international organizations for data collection and sharing help collaboration. They ensure coordinated efforts with strict monitoring of data collection to accurately recognize and manage the number of people with malaria, preventing any further outbreaks of the disease.
2. Strengthening Vector Control Measures
Vector control continues to underpin many malaria-prevention efforts, and vector-control strategies will need to be adapted in the face of the impacts of climate change.
- Larviciding and Environmental Management: Every 4-6 months, monitoring of the sites prone to mosquito breeding is a must. Furthermore, preventive measures such as larviciding of water bodies and adding mosquito repellents in the breeding sites can also prevent outbreaks. Wastage management to prevent the creation of stagnant water sources should also be taken into consideration.
- Insecticide Resistance Management: changing temperature and rainfall under climate change can increase the spread of insecticide-resistant mosquito strains. Reducing the speed of development and spread of insecticide resistance through the use of integrated vector management that includes rotation and combinations of materials helps with the management of resistance.
3. Climate-Resilient Malaria Interventions
Clar′ing malaria interventions (eg, developing and disseminating new treatments) to meet climate-change resilience goals means designing for climatic variability.
- Flexibility in Treatment Protocols: The focus should be on developing treatment protocols that can evolve in response to variations in malaria transmission. This includes adjusting treatment for the region and epidemiological information, as well as emerging patterns in resistance.
- Community-Based Interventions: Community-based interventions place a greater focus on the capabilities of local communities to support malaria prevention and control efforts in tackling challenges posed by climate variability. Some of the community-based approaches in malaria interventions include using insecticide-treated nets, community-based surveillance, early-warning systems, advisories, and supporting behavior change communication and health education.
4. Research and Innovation
Meanwhile, investment in research and innovation can help develop new tools and approaches for tackling malaria, aided by a changing climate.
- Development of climate-resilient tools: The discovery of new mosquito control, vaccine, and treatment approaches can help us deal with emerging challenges; innovative devices for malaria diagnostics and monitoring can enhance the response.
- Understanding climate-malaria interactions: more research on climate-related factors and malaria transmission can help adaptation strategies. This includes understanding how hazards such as climate change will affect the physiology of mosquitoes, and how these drivers will determine the risk of epidemics and outbreaks.
5. Policy and Advocacy
And policy and advocacy are a critical piece of the puzzle in adapting to the climate change-induced impact on malaria.
- Integrating malaria into broader climate and health policies effectively addresses it within the context of climate change, facilitating a comprehensive approach to health and environmental challenges. This approach helps to align malaria control efforts with national and regional adaptation strategies. This integration includes making malaria control a component of national and regional climate adaptation plans.
- Advocacy for Funding and Support: Increased advocacy is necessary to secure more funding and support for malaria research and control efforts, helping to stay ahead of the impacts of climate change. Promoting collaborative and concerted efforts toward the elimination of malaria in the international sphere is certainly vital to achieving the long-term goal.
The changing global climate could unequivocally redefine malaria’s ‘one collection on the wall’. Higher temperatures and shifts in precipitation and weather patterns under climate change and extreme weather events are likely to influence malaria transmission patterns and could lead to an expansion of geographical areas at risk.
