Disease resulting by global warming - Research Paper Example

“With extreme climate change, vulnerable groups of people such as the elderly and the children will be more prone to diseases such as increased occurrence of flu and fever (US, 2009 page 24).” Also, many bacteria and viruses reproduce in extreme weather and this may result in increased strain of diseases caused by these microorganisms. Climate change due to global warming will also affect the Agriculture cycle and people will experience more food drought than what is documented. As a result of poor nutrition and malnutrition, more diseases will also be exhibited.

Studies show that diseases such as Lyme disease, tuberculosis, avian influenza, cholera, Ebola, infestation and infection of intestinal and external parasites, yellow fever, sleeping sickness, and malaria will increase in prevalence due to global warming (Shapley, 2008). Diseases Caused by Global warming The most direct effect of global warming is by causing an increase in infectious microorganisms. Diseases such as Cholera, Ebola, malaria, sleeping sickness Lyme disease are caused by micro pathogens that are transmitted by hosts.

Some disease such as malaria and sleeping sickness are more prevalent in subtropical and tropical areas compared to more wet and cold areas (Hauser, 2013). Thus, these diseases are more prevalent in Africa as compared to western countries. This is due to the different weather patterns in the regions. However, with global warming the climate pattern will be affected. Thus, such diseases that are only found in tropical and subtropical regions can even be spread in the Western regions. Malaria can be deadly if unchecked and can result in fatalities both for the children and the adults.

Malaria pathogens quickly mutate and thus, resistant strains are quickly rising. The problem is that the discovery and manufacture of effective drugs is not as fast as the resistance rate. A global epidemic of malaria can turn out to be catastrophic. Global warming can also cause the prevalence of temperate weather. Many microorganisms cannot survive in temperate weather. However, with temperate weather many organisms can be able to survive long enough to reproduce and be infectious. This can lead to the introduction of some diseases which have not been documented yet.

Some microorganisms also tend to thrive better in extreme temperatures. This stability may result in prevalence of the diseases and making the disease more infectious than in normal temperatures. Metabolism of humans is also affected in temperate temperatures. This may affect the physiology of humans leaving them prone to diseases (Schnackenberg, 2012). Warmer weather may result in increased reproduction of parasites and rodents that carry pathogenic microorganisms. Increased number of hosts will lead to increased chances of the parasites and rodents of picking up pathogens and transmitting them to humans.

In households, growths of many microorganisms are favored by warm and humid environments. Thus, if cold regions such as the North Pole were to become warm, many microorganisms will thrive there causing a spread of diseases. Researchers also predict that change in climatic condition will lead to increase in the cycle of transmissions of pathogens by the carriers to the humans. An indirect effect on how global warming can cause diseases is by affecting the Agriculture cycle. The growth of