Feverish Future: Infectious Disease Risks in the Age of Climate Change

ABSTRACT: Significant and long-lasting changes in temperature, precipitation, humidity and air and water quality have a catastrophic impact on human health and increasing rates of morbidity and mortality globally. Through its incessant effects on pathogen or host health, replication, dissemination or migration, climate change can increase the area or duration of time when conditions remain favourable for outbreaks and transmission of emerging or reemerging infectious diseases, irrespective of geographic realm. The primary infectious disease categories that are impacted gravely due to climate extremes are vector-borne infectious diseases and water- and food-borne infectious diseases. It is evident from historical trends that contemporary disease patterns and projections for the future that addressing how infectious diseases are impacted by climate change is essential for international health safety and response strategies. Thus, the paper is an attempt to investigate the intricate relationships between climate change and the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, aiming to elucidate how environmental factors, disease vectors and human health outcomes interact amid changing climatic conditions. The findings have ramifications that go beyond current healthcare issues, indicating that in order to reduce future infectious disease outbreaks and improve public health readiness, integrated climate-health policies are pivotal. In short, vulnerable populations are at greater risk and viable global health strategies are crucial to cop up with the unparalleled environmental change.