Climate Change and Rising Disease

Context:

According to experts, East Africa is experiencing a surge in El Nino-related malaria infections.

El Nino rains and widespread flooding: The ongoing heavy El Nino rains and widespread flooding are likely to trigger an outbreak of new malaria infections across the Horn of Africa.

Malaria:

Malaria is a disease caused by a plasmodium parasite, transmitted by the bite of an infected female Anopheles (Mosquito)
Symptoms are chills, fever, and sweating, usually occurring a few weeks after being bitten.
Treatment includes antimalarial drugs.

- Flooding will also provide ideal conditions for mosquito multiplication and malaria’s emergence and/or exacerbation.
Risk Of Other Diseases: At the same time, displacement, crowding and lack of access to vaccination are likely to increase the risk of diseases such as measles and meningitis,” said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in an alert.
WHO Warning: While acknowledging that El Nino conditions are likely to trigger an outbreak of multiple diseases, WHO has warned that malaria remains a major threat and a leading public health concern in East Africa.
- According to WHO, the region accounts for a quarter of global malaria cases, making it a critical area of focus in the fight against the deadly disease.
Cholera Outbreak: East Africa is already facing one of the worst cholera outbreaks in years, one of the longest ever recorded in the region.
- Heavy rainfall and flooding, often leading to increased water contamination, will likely exacerbate and further prolong Cholera outbreaks.

The El Nino conditions have triggered flooding in most parts of the region, including Somalia, Kenya, Burundi, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, leading to loss of lives and livelihoods and human displacement.

About El Nino:

El Nino, meaning “the little boy” in Spanish is commonly known, refers to an abnormal warming of surface waters in equatorial Pacific Ocean. It is known to suppress monsoon rainfall.
It was first noticed by scientists in the 1920s.
It occurs on average every two to seven years, and episodes usually last nine to 12 months.

Formation:

It forms when the trade winds blowing east-to-west along the equatorial Pacific slow down or reverse as air pressure changes, although scientists are not entirely sure what kicks off the cycle.
Because the trade winds affect the sun-warmed surface waters, a weakening causes these warm western Pacific waters to slosh back into the colder central and eastern Pacific basins.

Impacts:

El Niño events are typically associated with increased rainfall in parts of southern South America, the southern United States, the Horn of Africa, and central Asia.
In contrast, El Niño can also cause severe droughts in Australia, Indonesia, and parts of southern Asia.

Source: Down To Earth