MELBOURNE, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Prevention measures including mosquito control, vaccines and efforts to limit global warming are critical to counter the growing burden of mosquito-borne diseases in a changing climate, according to an Australian review.
The review by Monash University researchers, published in Science Advances, examined the complex ecological, epidemiological and socioeconomic factors that influence the transmission of malaria and dengue, according to a university statement released on Saturday.
"As climate change increases temperatures and alters rainfall patterns, this expands the areas with climatic conditions in which Anopheles and Aedes mosquito populations can thrive," which transmit malaria and dengue, respectively, said the review's lead researcher Toby Cumming at the Monash School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
However, the researchers noted that the two diseases have followed different trends over the last century. Malaria rates have declined, while dengue rates have risen, Cumming said.
Mosquito control and drug therapies have helped reduce malaria transmission, while increasing urbanization has favored Aedes mosquitoes and the spread of dengue, for which no therapeutics are available, researchers said.
Despite malaria's long-term decline, its global incidence has risen 8.5 percent over the past decade, Cumming said, warning of serious concerns over recent malaria trends and the rapid growth in dengue and calling for greater prevention and control efforts.
New dengue preventive interventions include vaccines and vector control strategies such as introducing the bacterium Wolbachia into Aedes mosquito populations to reduce their ability to transmit dengue, the researchers said. ■
