Health

Tropical Virus Moves North as Europe Warms

BBC News reports that a “debilitating tropical virus carried by mosquitoes” is manifesting itself in the norther Italian town of Ravenna. The extent of the disease, is minor - only 160 cases thus far, and 1 death. The disease is known as chikungunya, is relatively rare, and usually found in the tropics. However, it seems to have mutated, and moved north.

An interesting factor in the migration of the disease may also be changing temperatures:

Professor Antoine Flahault, who coordinates French research on chikungunya, said the Italian outbreak was a “world first” outside the tropics. 

“The mosquito vectors (carriers) of this disease have been in Italy for several years. All we know is that increased temperatures and humidity make the climate more tropical and favour the proliferation of mosquitoes,” he said.

We all know of the bird flu virus, which has been a headache for authorities in Europe and the rest of the developed world. Bird flu migrates with people, a natural corollary of globalization. Globalization increases the likelihood that a disease will be able to move.

This migration of a virus suggests that worse may yet be on its way. As the planet and Europe warm, the likelihood that a disease will be able to stay also goes up, by homogenizing the climate across regions.

There is a silver lining though. If the rich world is afflicted by the same diseases as the poor, maybe we will no longer have such things as “neglected diseases” and the 10/90 global health gap.

© 2007 The Discomfort Zone.