The Effect of Climate Change on Emergence and Evolution of Zoonotic Diseases in Asia

Abstract

As the climate of Asia changes under the influence of global warming, the incidence and spatial distribution of known zoonoses will evolve, and new zoonoses are expected to emerge as a result of greater exposure to organisms which currently occur only in wildlife. In order to evaluate the risks attached to different transmission methods and organism maintenance mechanisms, a classification system is provided which allocates diseases into nine epitypes. All animal diseases and zoonoses recognised as globally important can be categorised into an epitype, or in a few cases more than one epidemiologically distinct epitype. Within each epitype, evidence available on the effects of climatic factors is provided for selected diseases of zoonotic importance to illustrate likely future evolution of these diseases and the extent of currently available evidence for different diseases. Factors which are likely to influence the emergence of novel zoonotic pathogens in Asia are outlined. The range of methods available for analysis, prediction, and evaluation of likely changes in disease occurrence under the influence of climate change has grown rapidly; an introduction is given to the types of tools now available. These methods will need to be integrated into a surveillance and response strategy for Asia, and an approach to achieve this is outlined.