RIn view of global warming, KI President Lothar Wieler calls for exotic diseases to be considered in this country. “Climate change is leading to an expansion of the habitats for mosquitoes and ticks in Germany,” said the head of the Robert Koch Institute to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
“Many mosquito and tick species can transmit viral, bacterial and parasitic pathogens,” says Wieler. These could be zika or dengue viruses, for example. “A return of malaria, which is caused by plasmodia, is also possible.” It is therefore important to sensitize the medical profession in this country to these diseases. “This is also an important concern of the RKI.”
The health policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Andrew Ullmann, told the Funke media group: “Further research and innovation initiatives are urgently needed to better understand the effects of climate change on the spread of pathogens and to take effective measures.” The greatest danger on this topic would be “a hostility towards science and research”.