World Health Organization chief scientist Jeremy Farrar warned on Tuesday that climate change will make mosquito-borne infectious diseases, such as dengue or malaria, endemic in parts of the United States and Europe.
During an opening interview for the Politico Health Summit held in Brussels on Tuesday, Farrar said that with increased warming and damp climates spreading across temperate zones, “dengue is going to become endemic certainly in the United States and in parts of Europe.”
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“I don’t think we’ve made the case that climate is a health issue any way strongly enough,” Farrar said.
On Saturday, the first case of locally acquired dengue virus, also known as dengue fever, was reported in Pasadena, California. Other areas in the continental U.S., including Florida, Texas, and Arizona, have had previous outbreaks of dengue that were contained with a strong public health response.
Domestically acquired malaria was also spotted in the U.S. over the summer in Florida and Texas, sparking greater interest in mosquito-borne illness.
Malaria experts told the Washington Examiner that despite the possible threat of the reemergence of a previously eradicated disease, modern interventions, such as screened windows and air conditioning, have dramatically spread the risk of contracting mosquito-borne illnesses.
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Farrar said, however, that high rates of dengue, which can have severe fever symptoms that can result in internal bleeding and death if left untreated, have the potential to “overwhelm our health systems” if the need for hospitalization rises.
“We have not made the case for climate as a health issue,” Farrar said. “We need to change the narrative.”
