Population dispersal around the globe and consequent interpopulation interactions has changed the patterns of transmission of infectious disease in human population. Climate is one of several significant factors influencing the occurrence of infectious diseases. Climatic sensitivities for the vector and host include rise in temperature, level of precipitation, sea level elevation, rainfall, wind, duration of sunlight etc. Other important factors include human migration, transportation, drug resistance as well as environmental manipulations such as deforestation, agricultural development, water projects, urbanization, etc.
This chapter examines the scientific evidences on the impact of climate change on human infectious diseases globally based on a survey of related publications of last few decades reflecting three aspects depending on three different mosquito species—the components of infectious diseases, climate variables, and selected infectious diseases. Human beings may control the related health effects that may effectively be controlled through adopting proactive measures, including better understanding of the climate change patterns and effective allocation of public awareness. The maturity of mosquitoes from larvae to adult, their endurance, biting frequency and nourishment of pathogen are temperature dependent. Amendment in the environment can modify species composition in a particular region which may modify the dynamics of transmission of mosquito-borne diseases. Rainfall, being another significant climatic factor, is also decisive for construction and perseverance of mosquito breeding sites. Moreover, environmental changes like deforestation could also amplify local temperatures in the highlands enhancing the capacity of different mosquito species. This experimental data will be supportive in facilitating the understanding of the impact of climate change on three important mosquito vectors Anopheles, Culex, and Aedes. The aim of this review is to examine and integrate the up-to-date knowledge on the impacts of climate change on transmission of several dreadful diseases like malaria, filariasis, and dengue in a global context.