Survey Highlights Mosquito-Borne Viruses as Major Climate Change Threat

Mosquito on Skin

(Adobe Stock 272244487 by nechaevkon)

This article first appeared in our sister brand, Contagion^®Live.

A new survey commissioned by the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition finds that 61% of respondents who were infectious disease professionals said mosquito-borne pathogens represent the greatest threat to climate change.1

Specifically, viruses from these insects include dengue fever, Zika virus, West Nile virus, and malaria—which are endemic to various parts of the world, including Latin America and Africa—could likely see a rise in case rates. The driving concern is the warming temperatures globally and more flooding that pushes these insects into new areas or persist in endemic regions, extending environmental exposure. Scientists predict that 1.3 billion people could be impacted by Zika by 2050, and 61% of the world’s population could be impacted by dengue by 2080.1

"Temperature increases and extreme weather events are impacting how humans, animals, and insects interact, and we are finding mosquito-borne viruses in new places," Jorge Osorio, DVM, PhD, MS, a professor and director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and codirector of the Colombia-Wisconsin One Health Consortium, said in a statement. "As these viruses appear in more parts of the world, we need a globally coordinated effort to share learnings from countries who have successfully managed these illnesses, as well as ensuring that effective surveillance and countermeasures are in place."¹

The Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition is a novel industry-led global scientific and public health partnership dedicated to the early detection of and rapid response to future pandemic threats. The coalition seeks to identify, track, analyze, and test emerging outbreaks, including COVID-19 variants.²

"Just as scientists have developed sophisticated monitoring systems to track emerging storms and hurricanes, our job as virus hunters is to identify pathogens that have the potential to spark outbreaks in order to stay one step ahead," Gavin Cloherty, PhD, head of infectious disease research at Abbott and head of the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition, said in a statement. "Disease surveillance acts as our radar, helping us prioritize which viruses are most likely to trigger an outbreak and where those outbreaks may occur."¹

The Survey Specifics

More than 100 professionals in virology, epidemiology, and infectious diseases globally were asked a variety of questions including:

• About their priorities for addressing the gaps in readiness for disease outbreaks,
• Their views on how the changing environment is impacting infectious diseases,
• Suggestions for building a resilient healthcare system that identifies and responds to emerging disease outbreaks worldwide.
  

Invitations to participate in the online survey were distributed to more than 400 experts at Coalition member institutions, the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID) Network, the Global Virus Network (GVN), the Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET), as well as other academic research institutions. 103 experts fully completed the survey. The survey was conducted between April 2024 and June 2024, and participation was voluntary and anonymous.

Recommendations Post-Survey

The coalition recommended focusing on three priorities to maintain and strengthen the ability to manage local, regional, and global infectious disease outbreaks:

• The need to address gaps: Public health systems need surveillance programs to quickly identify new pathogens and outbreaks using the diverse tools available. Funding for public health should be available to sustain these programs, help train the next generation of virus hunters, identify and respond to outbreaks, and educate the public on infectious diseases.​
• Know what we are looking for: While every outbreak is important to understand, only some have the potential to spark national, regional, or global health concerns. Understanding the profile that presents the most risk enables the healthcare community to calibrate efforts to protect public health.​ As viruses are discovered in new locations, the medical community and the public need to know what viruses may be circulating, pointing to the need to continue strengthening surveillance and education efforts.
• Understand the changing environment: Experts are nearly unanimous in their view that the evolving way humans, animals, and insects overlap and interact will change the dynamics of infectious disease outbreaks. Continued research and investments in new technology are needed to help understand how those dynamics are at play locally–old diseases in new regions, acceleration of transmission routes–to help guide more effective preparation.

"As these viruses appear in more parts of the world, we need a globally coordinated effort to share learnings from countries who have been successfully managing these illnesses, as well as ensuring that effective surveillance and countermeasures are in place," Osorio said.

You can access the survey here.

References
1. New survey from Abbott finds epidemiologists believe viral and mosquito-borne pathogens are priority concerns for disease outbreaks. Eurekalert press release. September 17, 2024. Accessed September 22, 2024.
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1058163

2. Remaining Ready for Outbreaks. Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition. Accessed September 22, 2024.
https://www.abbott.com/virushunters.html