36th meeting of the International Task Force for Disease Eradication, 5–6 October 2023

Overview

The 36th meeting of the International Task Force for Disease Eradication (ITFDE)1 was convened in a hybrid (virtual and in-person) format at the Carter Center in Atlanta (GA), USA, on 5–6 October 2023 to discuss the “global impact of climate change and health” and “the impact of climate change on disease eradication and elimination.”

Global impact of climate change on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)

As disease vectors such as Aedes mosquitoes adapt to the increased temperatures due to climate change, carriage of mosquito-borne viruses like dengue and chikungunya in particular will result in more epidemics. Furthermore, diseases are re-emerging in locations previously considered to have eliminated them, such as the increasing incidence of malaria and leishmaniasis in Central and South America and northern Europe. Mosquito-borne infections and the associated diseases, particularly those transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, are anticipated to continue increasing in temperate zones of the northern and southern latitudes.

Environmental shifts impact the intricate ecological chain, affecting free-living parasite life stages, intermediate hosts and vectors. Alterations in temperature, water quality, vegetation and the broader ecosystem can influence pathogen transmission, as climate change permeates every level of the ecosystem, impacting all organisms, from parasites to vectors and the entire food chain through drought, flooding or both. Parasites and vectors are susceptible to climate change, and extreme weather can temporarily disrupt pathogen transmission while also causing displacement of people and animals to new habitats. Climate change also impacts biodiversity, as natural habitats are destroyed by population pressures from climate-induced migration and increased agricultural use, resulting in natural habitat destruction.

The exact impact of climate change on transmission of NTDs is uncertain, because of the inherent unpredictability of disease dynamics and, in some systems, limited understanding of climate–pathogen–disease relations. Changing environmental conditions can shift disease transmission, making previously suitable areas more favourable and others less so. The challenges of climate change, especially to NTDs, are multifaceted; uncertainty in modelling future climate impacts, the complexity of anthropogenic influences and the lack of localizing global climate change models require further study.