One particularly challenging issue that will face health educators and other healthcare professionals in the coming years is preparing for and responding to the health effects associated with climate change. The CDC has lead the effort to prepare for this new environmental health challenge. CDC is currently taking steps to assure that systems are in place to detect, track, and manage a variety of health risks that may result from climate change. Visit CDC's National Center for Environmental Health to read more about the Agency's efforts to prepare for and respond to this new public health challenge.
Temperature and precipitation, both of which will increase with climate change, affect the spread of water- and food-borne diseases. In general, increased temperature results in higher pathogen replication, persistence, survival, and transmission for bacterial pathogens, and has mixed effects on viral pathogens but often reduces the overall transmission rate. Higher temperatures seem to produce a greater number of water- and food-borne parasitic infections, as well.
Environmental changes have effects on pathogen replication, survival, and persistent rates; transmission rates; and disease ranges overall.