Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are investigating the potential adverse effects of climate change on the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses like Zika, according to WPR.
Jonathan Patz, MD, director of the Global Health Institute at UWM, says Malaria research has shown that the parasite transmitted by mosquitoes developed faster inside the insect in warmer temperatures.
"The number of days get fewer and fewer that it takes for that parasite to cross the stomach lining of the mosquito and develop into an infective in the salivary glands," Dr. Patz told WPR.
Researchers at UW are starting a lab study that will incubate Zika carrying mosquitoes at various temperatures to determine the effects of increased global temperatures on the disease carrying mosquitoes.
On April 4, the Obama administration released a comprehensive report on the potential impact of climate change on public health in the U.S. The expert authors of that report found the prevalence of mosquito-borne viruses will likely increase with rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns, making the U.S. more habitable for disease-spreading vectors like the mosquitoes that carry Zika.
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