A REVIEW ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND IMPACT ON PARASITIC DISEASES INCIDENCE AND PREVALENCE

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt

Abstract

Climate change has a significant influence on ecological interactions and processes, including 
parasitism. Parasites are critical for maintaining ecosystem balance as integral elements of eco
logical systems and potential drivers of outbreaks and disease-related mortality. Understanding 
their sensitivity to changing climatic conditions is therefore essential. This calls for a consolidat
ed review of existing knowledge on the subject, along with the development of improved meth
ods to predict how parasites will respond to these environmental shifts. In addition to directly af
fecting the parasites' dispersive phases in the environment, such as eggs and larvae, indirect ef
fects of the changing climate may also affect the larvae, which mostly inhabit intermediate in
vertebrate hosts.  Parasites, like all living things, have optimal temperature ranges for their es
sential processes, and these rates can be directly impacted by climate change. However, the im
mediate environment provided by the host offers some protection, partially shielding parasites 
from external environmental fluctuations. Yet, as environmental changes begin to alter the host's 
condition, competency, and availability, these shifts inevitably influence the parasites dependent 
on them. 

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