Heat waves can change pathogens in adverse ways --study

Heat Waves Are Changing Disease Dynamics in Unpredictable Ways, New Research Finds - Inside Climate News Scientists are just beginning to understand how extreme weather can give pathogens an upper hand, underscoring the urgent need for the type of research canceled by the Trump administration. Derek Harrison Inside Climate News

Scientists have long known that changes in temperature can affect the risks and spread of infectious diseases by altering the biology and behavior of pathogens and their hosts, from butterflies to people. And evidence that climate change can exacerbate more than half of known human pathogenic diseases has underscored the urgency of understanding how extreme heat shapes disease outcomes.

Now, new research from scientists at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland suggests that heat waves can dramatically alter a parasite’s numbers and ability to cause disease in unpredictable ways.

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