Infectious disease: the invisible danger of climate change

Headlines trumpet the perils of climate change. We are warned that the seas are rising, polar ice caps melting, habitats are eroding and storms worsening. Even as many express earnest concern for imminent potential consequences of climate change, there is still contentious debate about its causes and whether man is its direct agent. Expensive responses are urged, but it is uncertain whether any such measures or radically changing our lifestyles by a hurried shift to renewable energy sources will realistically affect trends. However, there is a path that breaches all conflicting opinions and will yield consequential benefits no matter the level of climate urgency or cause. That approach is through the appropriate recognition that any shift in pattern and distribution of infectious disease is the single greatest repercussion of any alteration in climate. This most critical variable is the final common denominator affecting our own lives and the well-being of all...