Climate Change and its Impact on Human Health: A Focus on Vetcor Borne Diseases

Abstract

Human activities are blamed for climate change, for instance, cutting trees, deforestation, desertification, arable lands abuse, increasing consumption of fossil fuels in industries and transportation have increased greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the earths atmospheres that resulted in increased average temperature. Accumulation of green house gases  in lower atmospheres is the main reason for global warming. The overall health effects of climate change are likely to be extremely negative. Climate change affects social and environmental factors related to health such as  contaminating drinking water, less access to water, having adverse effects on food security, and ruining shelter. It also imposes new diseases and mortality on human population. Climate change specially extreme high temperature increases deaths due to complication from cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, diabetes, mental disorder, respiratory and renal diseases. Weather related natural disasters result in more deaths. Intense rainfall and floods cause direct trauma, ruin agricultural land, contaminate fresh water, increase the  risk of  water borne disease and create suitable breeding grounds for vector borne disease like malaria, leshmaniasis, CCHF, and others. Climate change also increases the rate of communicable and non-communicable diseases. All papulation is affected by climate change but elders, pregnant women and children are more vulnerable than others.  Climate change is challenging all human societies, but areas with  weak health infrastructure and low socioeconomic status are more affected.