Global Warming: Dengue - Research Paper Example

I will compare and contrast disease growth within the last 50 years, with specific research targeted at dengue fever, its risks, the crucial population, its spread, its source, and the ramifications of global warming relative to the Americas. I will include sources from the CDC and current journals that advocate a plan of caution and concern regarding the global health crises that will result from global warming and the increase of dengue fever. I will conclude with an examination of the predictions versus the reality of global warming, climate change, and international health issues.

Dengue fever is a disease that has historically affected Third World countries to a larger degree than the Americas. By and large, dengue fever has mainlyimpactedAfrica, killing approximately 1 million people annually (Gale, 2007). Dengue fever is spread by mosquitoes; the disease itself is rarely fatal. It is the after effects and the secondary complication that causes death. Hemorrhagic fever is the most severe complication, in patients that acquired DHF; death resulted in more than 30% of all cases (Kander, 2010).

DHF (Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever) causes shock, weakness due to blood loss, and eventually death due to loss of blood pressure. The disease itself can last two weeks or more, but the lasting weakness and pain may take months to recover. There is no vaccination or treatment for Dengue Fever; palliative measures are practiced to make the patient more comfortable. Death may be precipitous so intensive observation is necessary in treatment (Kander, 2010). Climate change is already affecting our nation’s health, according to a report recently released by the Obama administration (Morello, 2010).

Called a “driver for disease migration,” climate change moves diseases that were once stationary into the general population. Supplementing the increased temperatures and unstable climactic conditions are the additionalstimulus of aninternationally traveling population, an increased population density, particularly in urban areas, and an increase in imported and exported goods. All of these factors, coupled with the increase in heat, humidity, and precipitation, nurture ideal conditions for Dengue Fever to grow.

In addition, the mosquito that was formerly restricted to areas outside of the Americas is now found in 28 states within the United States (Knowlton et al, 2009).As the temperatures continue to rise, Dengue Fever may spread to vulnerable parts of the American population, the children, the diseased, and the elderly, resulting in an endemic and catastrophic rise in death. Recent publications considered the rise of Dengue Fever within the Americasas previously minor phenomena. The Pan American Health Organization initiated a control measure for governing the disease in the 1950s and 1960s, resulting in near eradication for the Central and South American countries (Gubler, 1995).

After the 1970s, and the termination of the PAHO program, the disease has begun to merge with a new strain that has arisen to re-infest previously Dengue-free countries. This new emergence requires a pro-active response in the measures of mosquito eradication, vaccine creation, and public resources for water and sanitation resources. From my research I wish to document and verify the increase in Dengue Fever cases as a result of global warming, and the necessity of combating the future endemic with a three-fold attack: 1) decrease