Climate change and spread of disease carrying animals (mosquitoes) | Umweltbundesamt

Background and Goals

Climate changes directly and indirectly influence the development and spread of disease carrying articulate animals, whose development cycle predominantly takes place freely in natural habitats. Increased temperatures can promote the development of endemic or invasive mosquito types (short generation successions), while extreme events such as flooding or persistent rainfall provide suitable breeding water for mosquito larvae and pupae. Mosquitoes can act as a vector for infectious diseases that have not previously been endemic in Germany, such as Dengue fever, Chikungunya fever, West Nile virus, malaria (all transmitted by mosquitoes), Leishmaniasis (transmitted by sandflies) and blue tongue disease (transmitted by gnats).

As part of climate effect research, the import routes for invasive mosquitoes need to be identified and their establishment in Germany studied. At selected locations, all development stages of the mosquitoes need to be collated and a taxonomic identification down to the species carried out. The studies should all incorporate data on the habitats, micro and macro climatic conditions and other influencing factors for the development of the organisms. The objective of the research project is to outline the current situation and its development during the term of the project. In addition, future distribution patterns for mosquito types important as disease carriers will be forecast, enabling possible infection risks for humans and animals to be identified in good time and evaluated. This is the basis for early development and implementation of preventive measures (e.g. early warning systems, local control measures to prevent establishment of new species) and thus reduction of the risk to human and animal health.

The use of different mosquito traps will be investigated in an accompanying comparative study. The expected results will be used to establish further methods for monitoring measures. For years, scientists have been calling for standard global use of special mosquito traps in different infestation situations.

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