Glacial periods alternate with interglacial periods, which have hotter climates. Currently we are in an interglacial period. The Global Mean Surface Temperature (GMST) has increased 10 times since last century. Evidence of climate change:
Figure 8 NASA photographs of Mount Kilimanjaro which shows significant glacial retreats
How does climate change affect malaria?
Animals and plants modify their physiology, with genetic mutations, and they modify their behaviour, to adapt to better conditions of the environment. The Anopheles mosquito is very adaptable. An increase within the optimal temperature ranges 18 C – 32 C, the humidity and the rains, directly affect the mosquito
- they improve their reproductive capacity
- they put eggs in the water faster
- they improve their growth phase
- the formation of infective spores is faster
- the digestive process, after biting, is faster
- they increase their biting frequency
- they vary their biting hours
- they choose to inhabit new regions
- they can expand their habitat very long distances
- they have access to population without immunity
- they can interbreed creating new species
- there is an increase in breading grounds for them
The increase in temperature, affects directly the parasite, who lives inside the mosquito and its survival depends upon of the transmission and evasion of the host’s defences, its immunological system and the treatments.
- if the mosquito increases its speed of transmission, the parasite will go into more hosts
- with more infected individuals, the possibilities of mutations increases and the parasite will select the more favourable genes to survive.
- with populations without immunity, the transmission is enhanced