The director of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lothar Wieler, announced the possible spread of exotic infectious diseases in Germany due to climate change. These changes lead to “expansion of habitats for mosquitoes and ticks that can transmit viral, bacterial and parasitic infections,” Wheeler said in an interview with media group Funke published Monday, Aug.
The head of the RKI warned that doctors should be especially attentive to the symptoms of infectious diseases, which usually only occur after traveling to hot countries. He cited Zika fever, dengue fever or West Nile fever as examples. Furthermore, Wheeler did not rule out the emergence in Germany of malaria, which is caused by Plasmodium.
The spread of viruses in mosquitoes depends on temperature, so long periods of heat increase the likelihood of infection from a mosquito bite, he explained.
More research needed
Andrew Ullmann, a health expert with the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), also expects that the spread of ticks and mosquitoes in Germany and other European countries due to the spread of warming will increase the emergence of diseases “that were previously unknown in our climates.” “. regions”.
“More research and initiatives are needed to better understand the impact of climate change on the spread of pathogens and take effective measures,” he emphasized.
Source: DW
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