Climate Change Could Increase Malaria Presence in Africa and South America

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite and is primarily present in Africa, India, and South America. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there were 219 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2010, mostly in Africa.

If left untreated, those infected with malaria can develop serious complications beyond the fever and flu-like illness and most likely die. The disease claimed 660,000 lives in 2010. These numbers could worsen if future global warming does as well.

Fox News has reported that researchers from the U.S. and Britain conducted a study revealing such information. The findings showed "the first hard evidence" that malaria thrives during warmer years and decreases when temperatures cool.

"With progressive global warming, malaria will creep up the mountains and spread to new high-altitude areas," said Menno Bouma of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in this Fox News article.

The extensiveness of this study is notable, as Bouma and his team have been conducting research on malaria and the climate in western Colombia and central Ethiopia for 15 years. The research predicts that the Plasmodium parasites as well as the Anopheles mosquitoes that carry malaria will thrive in the warmer temperatures. Malaria case records in Colombia from 1990-2005 and Ethiopia from 1993-2005 were analyzed and the researchers found that the median number of malaria cases increased in warmers years, and returned to lower levels in cooler years.

Although malaria could very well be sensitive to climate change, other scientists and researchers have found that as long as socio-economic conditions improve along with mosquito-control efforts, malaria can be successfully neutralized despite temperature changes.

The CDC provides a map for where malaria is most prevalent as well as informational pages for diagnosis and treatment, choosing drugs to prevent malaria, and reporting cases of the disease.

To read more about malaria and climate change, visit this Fox News article.