Stethoscope-Health & Medicine Journal
Dhaka, Monday, June 9, 2014/Vol. 11, No.7
Original Article
Climate Change, Infectious Diseases and Public Health
A Bangladesh Perspective
Sahadat Hossain
Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Saver, Dhaka-1342
Humidity, rainfall and temperature are
changed due to climate change and these three
climatic mechanisms, in changing conditions,
cause an increase in insects, pests, diseases
and microorganisms1. In Bangladesh, the
temperature is rising day by day due to the
climate change. In the last ten years, the
highest temperature was recorded 43.2 degrees
in Jessore in 2009 and the second highest 41.5
degrees in Chuadanga on April 9, 20132. The
people of Dhaka city experienced the highest
temperature after 54 years as the mercury on
April 24, 2014 hit 40.2 degrees Celsius2. As a
result, the heat-loving microorganisms have
become sensitive to the environment and may
harm public health by causing infectious
diseases. Insect vectors are likely to be more
active at warmer temperatures3. According to
the Australian Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), global warming
would cause increase of vector borne and
water borne disease in the tropics1. It has been
estimated that climate change causes 2 percent
of all cases of malaria worldwide1. There is a
close link between local climate and the
occurrence or severity of some diseases and
other threats to human health1. Climate
changes have important effects on the
prevalence of infectious diseases in
Bangladesh1.
Malaria is one of the major public health
problems in Bangladesh, out of 64 districts in
the country malaria is highly endemic in 13
districts and 10.90 million people are at risk of
the disease, more than 98 percent of the total
malaria cases in the country are reported from
these 13 high endemic districts (Bandarban,
Khagrachari and Rangamati) and Cox’s Bazar
district report more than 80% of the malaria
cases every year1.
Dengue virus in many ways seems to be the
obverse of malaria4. It is regarded as one of the
most important arboviral infections in the
world5. About 52 percent of the population in
the WHO South-East Asian Region is at risk
of dengue5. In 2012, a total of 257204 cases
and 1229 deaths were reported from the
region5. While malaria transmission occurs
most frequently in rural areas, dengue is a city
disease4. While the Anopheles vectors of
malaria bite mainly at night, the Aedes vectors
of dengue bite mainly in the daytime4. While
an initial malaria infection generally produces
the most severe symptoms, a second infection
of dengue can be much more dangerous than
the first, when it involves a different serotype
of the virus4.
Again kala-azar (Visceral leishmaniasis) is a
neglected tropical disease (NTD) which is
endemic in Bangladesh3. According to the
WHO collaboration in Bangladesh binary
report 2008-2009, kala-azar appears to be
clustered in 139 sub-districts (upazilas) in 45
districts with an estimated number of 45000
cases6. Nearly 10000 new cases are diagnosed
every year6. The habitat of vector sandfly is
the hot and humid temperature3. Thus kala-
azar patients are found in the different districts
outside the epidemic zone3.
During 2001-2011, multidisciplinary teams
from the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease
Control and Research (IEDCR) and
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease
Research, Bangladesh (ICDDRB) identified
sporadic cases and 11 outbreaks of Nipah
virus, a viral zoonotic disease caused by Nipah
encephalitis7. Three outbreaks were detected
through sentinel surveillance; others were
identified through event-based surveillance7. A
total of 196 cases of Nipah encephalitis, in
outbreaks, clusters and as isolated cases were
Stethoscope-Health & Medical Journal Dhaka, Monday, June 9, 2014/Vol. 11, No.7

detected from 20 districts of Bangladesh; out case were identified as the major risk factors
of them, 150 (77 percent) cases died7. for acquiring the disease7.
Drinking raw date palm sap and contact with a

Recently the infestation of a foreign pest,
known as the Giant Mealybug, held
responsible for a temporary halt in academic
activities at the College of Home Economics
campus, has spread to different parts of the
capital within a short period8. Colonies of the
white foreign unarmored scale insect had been
seen developing on several trees on the Dhaka
University campus, Government Laboratory
School, Eden College and Azimpur Staff
quarters8. It is reported that Giant Mealybugs
are also found in Shoilkupa upazila of
Jhenidah. Although an expert said “this insect
is not a threat to public health”, these are, of
course, an alarming threat for public health
hazard due to climate change.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has
published a data showing the impact of climate
change on human health3. These data shows
that developing regions of the world like
Bangladesh have been disproportionately
affected by the climate change relative to
developed regions3. The WHO report also
includes estimates of the future global burden
of disease that will result from climate
change3.
Although the governments must take the lead
in tackling climate change, it is also the
responsibility to do our own part. Therefore,
the focus should be on mitigating the impact
of the climate change, including the potential
impact on the global burden of the infectious
diseases.

References:

1. M. Ruhul Amin, S.M. Tareq and S.H. Rahman. Impacts of Climate Change on Public Health:
Bangladesh Perspective; Global Journal of Environmental Research 5 (3): 97-105, 2011.
2. Dhaka boils in 2nd highest temperature in 5 decades. The Daily Sun’s report on April 25,
2014.
3. Alam ABMM. Climate change and infectious diseases-Global & Bangladesh perspective.
Journal of Shaheed Suhrawardy med coll, 2011; 3(1): 1-2.
4. Vector-Borne Disease-Primary Examples. Mosquito Zone Corporation; One Riverway, Suite
1700 Houston, TX 77056, (713) 840-6425.
5. Aide-memoire about Dengue. Regional Office for South-East Asia. @ World Health
Organization 2014.
6. WHO collaboration in Bangladesh binary report 2008-2009. WHO country office for
Bangladesh.
7. Mahmudur Rahmana, Apurba Chakrabortya. Nipah virus outbreaks in Bangladesh: a deadly
infectious disease. WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health 2012; 1(2): 208-212
8. Giant mealybug attack spreads to adjacent areas. Dhaka Tribune’s report on April 23, 2014.