Potential effects of climate changes on dengue transmission: A Review of empirical evidences from Taiwan
Journal
Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research
Pages
269-281
ISBN
9783320000000
Date Issued
2016
Author(s)
Abstract
Effects of climate change on human health become increasingly a growing concern. Especially, the worldwide risk of vector-borne diseases, such as dengue fever, could be strongly influenced by meteorological conditions. Taiwan is unique in terms of its geographical location and abundant ecological environments. It makes Taiwan an unusual epidemic region for dengue disease. This chapter focuses on risk factors related to climate change and geographical characteristics which have been shown to affect dengue transmission in Taiwan. Empirical studies all concluded that relationship between temperature and dengue incidence is highly correlated. Some of studies also concluded that temperature increase has more dramatic influence to dengue incidences in southern Taiwan. However, the effects of other meteorological factors, including precipitation and humidity, on dengue incidence are rather inconsistent. Extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall, would be possible to damage the habitats of Aedes mosquitoes and also beneficial to construct them with lag time of several weeks. The role of extreme weather events in dengue transmission needs to be further investigated. Further studies should also put more focus on the extent of influence of meteorological conditions on human activities and what activity changes may increase or decrease the risk of dengue transmission. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016.
Publisher
Springer
Type
book part