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The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Climate change could bring insect-borne tropical diseases to UK, scientists warn
Climate change could make the UK vulnerable to insect-transmitted tropical diseases that were previously only found in hot countries, scientists have warned, urging ministers to redouble efforts to contain their spread abroad. Leading mosquito experts said the government's cuts to international aid would lead to a collapse in crucial surveillance, control and treatment programmes in endemic countries, leading to more deaths. This week, the UK Health Security Agency announced the discovery of West Nile virus in UK mosquitoes for the first time. The agency said it had found no evidence of transmission to humans and the risk to the British public is low. West Nile virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and, like dengue fever, chikungunya and zika, used to be confined to hotter regions of the world. But global heating has expanded the geographical spread of West Nile virus and other tropical diseases into cooler areas, including parts of northern and western Europe. In 2024 there were more than 1,400 cases of locally acquired West Nile virus and several hundred cases of dengue, mostly in France and Italy. According to Dr Robert Jones, assistant professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in the most extreme scenarios – with temperatures rising by 4 to 5 degrees above pre-industrial levels – there is expected to be a fivefold increase in dengue and chikungunya outbreaks by the 2060s in Europe. 'We are unlikely to see a dramatic surge in tropical diseases,' says Jones. 'However, climate change is making the UK more hospitable to the insects that that transmit some pathogens that cause tropical diseases.' 'Projected increases to UK temperatures in the coming years will increase the risks of West Nile virus outbreaks, potentially with epidemics appearing by the second half of the century.' For tropical diseases to become established in the UK, those infected with the virus would have to be bitten by the appropriate mosquitoes, which then pass it on to other people. For now, the UK does not yet have the right mosquitoes in sufficient numbers, says Prof Tom Solomon, the director of the National Institute for Health and Care Research's health protection research unit on emerging infections and of the Pandemic Institute. 'At the moment, Aedes mosquitoes such as the Asian tiger mosquito are the main vectors of dengue fever and zika, whilst for West Nile, Culex species are important. These mosquitoes have been detected in the UK, but are not yet fully established in sufficient numbers to cause large outbreaks.' 'But as the UK gets hotter, local mosquito populations are changing, which, long-term, could result in local transmission of tropical diseases, especially in southern England.' For now, there is no need for the NHS to embark on mass vaccinations for yellow fever or to prescribe anti-malarial drugs. And the public does not yet need to routinely use insect repellent in Britain during summer. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion A better defence against mosquito-borne disease would be to tackle it internationally, scientists say. Heather Ferguson, professor of infectious disease ecology at the University of Glasgow, who leads the Mosquito Scotland project, says the 'absolute number one priority' for the UK government if it wants to protect UK citizens long-term is to invest in measures to control these diseases in the tropical countries where they cause the overwhelming burden of illness and death. 'We should never lose sight of the fact that one child under five dies of malaria approximately every minute, with approximately 600,000 deaths and over 100 million cases in 2023 alone.' 'As we learned from the pandemic, infectious diseases have no borders and can spread quickly when the conditions are right,' she said. 'The government's cuts to foreign aid will lead to a collapse in crucial surveillance, control and treatment programmes in endemic countries, causing more deaths from tropical disease.' 'The best way to defend ourselves is to not only maintain, but strengthen investment into the global elimination efforts that will ultimately keep all of us safe from tropical disease.' 'Controlling mosquito-borne diseases overseas is also an important element of protecting the UK,' says Solomon. 'If they are controlled overseas, there is less chance of them spreading to the UK.' 'Long-term policies that address net zero challenges globally are arguably the best protection against such diseases,' says Prof James Wood, infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge and co-director of Cambridge Infectious Diseases.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
NHS offers world-first vaccine to combat rise in super strain STI
A new vaccine for gonorrhoea is to be rolled out by the NHS in England to tackle a rise in antibiotic-resistant 'super' strains. The jabs will be available for gay and bi-sexual men, who are most at risk of becoming infected, while other high-risk people, such as sex workers can request it. Cases of gonorrhoea, which are either resistant or 'extensively' resistant, have increased in the UK in the past three years to a record high in 2024. The UK Health Security Agency said the rise had been fuelled by heterosexuals who had caught the infection abroad. It comes amid a wider surge in diagnoses of gonorrhoea in England, with 85,000 cases in 2023 – the highest since records began in 1918. Cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in general have been increasing across England with 400,000 new diagnoses in England in 2023 - an increase of almost 5 per cent on the year before. While testing rates have increased, Dr Emma Harding-Esch, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, suggested the increased popularity of dating apps could have contributed to the rise as they enable people to find sexual partners more easily. Dr Harding-Esch also said changes in public sexual behaviour, such as the use of recreational drugs during sex or not using contraception with multiple partners could also have contributed. Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted infection passed on through unprotected sex and, if not treated, can lead to problems such as infections in the eyes, testicles or prostate. Not all patients experience symptoms, however, they include burning pain when you pee, fluid or discharge from the genitals, and pain in the testicles or lower abdomen. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation first made a recommendation to roll out the gonorrhoea vaccine, alongside the mpox vaccine in November 2023. However, it needed approval from NHS England first and will now be available from August. According to NHS England, no other health system has yet rolled out these vaccines nationally. Earlier this year, new research revealed that scientists have found the first new antibiotic for gonorrhoea since the 1990s, as researchers warned the STI could soon become 'impossible to treat'. Minister for Public Health and Prevention Ashley Dalton said: "This world-first vaccine programme represents a significant breakthrough for public health, and once again our NHS is leading the way. "It could not come at a more critical time - after years of neglect of public health services, we inherited gonorrhoea diagnoses at record levels, triple what they were in 2012. By targeting those most at risk, we can reduce transmission rates from this unpleasant disease that is becoming harder to treat and prevent thousands of cases over the next few years.' Local authorities and NHS sexual health services will identify eligible patients and actively invite them for the vaccine. Patients will also be able to get mpox, Hepatitis A and B and HPV vaccinations at the same time. The jab, which is one already used for meningococcal B disease called 4CMenB, could give people up to 40 per cent protection from gonorrhoea. Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing Board, said: 'The targeted roll-out of the vaccine, which could be a game-changer and dramatically reduce transmission of gonorrhoea, is good news. Sexual health clinics are on the front line of the STI outbreaks. It is vital that we have a strong and well-funded health protection system to support the vaccine rollout. "It is important that eligible people across England are able to access vaccines easily, when the vaccine becomes available, please come forward and get protected.'
Free Malaysia Today
17-05-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Climate change ‘increases risk of pregnancy problems'
Exposure to extreme heat while pregnant has previously been linked to a range of problems, including premature and stillbirth, birth defects and gestational diabetes. (Rawpixel pic) PARIS : Scorching heatwaves fuelled by global warming are increasing the risk of dangerous complications during pregnancies across the world, a report warned on Wednesday. Being exposed to extreme heat while pregnant has previously been linked to a range of problems, including a higher risk of premature birth, stillbirth, birth defects and gestational diabetes. The new report from US-based research group Climate Central seeks to measure how much more pregnant women have been exposed to excessive heat since 2020 – and to what extent climate change is to blame. In 222 out of 247 countries and territories studied, 'climate change at least doubled the average annual number of pregnancy heat-risk days experienced during the past five years', the report said. The biggest increases were in developing countries where access to healthcare is limited, such as in the Caribbean, Central and South America, the Pacific islands, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. The researchers only looked at the rise in potentially dangerous hot days, without examining the extent to which pregnant women were actually affected by heat in the countries. Ana Bonell, a maternal health and extreme-heat researcher at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who was not involved in the report, said it 'gives clear evidence of the growing exposure risk to extreme heat'. The findings could also apply to the elderly, another group who are more at risk during blisteringly hot periods, she told AFP. While researchers are increasingly documenting the many ways extreme heat can threaten human health, there remain 'many unknowns' about the physiological mechanisms to explain why this happens, Bonell noted. A large 2024 study in Nature Medicine estimated that heatwaves increase the odds of having a complication during pregnancy by 1.25 times. Beyond wider efforts to fight climate change – which is largely caused by humans burning fossil fuels – experts advise local policies to help communities beat the heat. These include 'greening neighbourhoods, limiting pollution, creating cool areas, and informing residents about the risks', French epidemiologist Lucie Adelaide said. In a statement linked to the new report, she also recommended that existing information about the health risks of heatwaves include warnings for pregnant women, who are rarely mentioned in such efforts at present.
Free Malaysia Today
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Free Malaysia Today
Risk of death rises for pedestrians, cyclists if hit by an SUV
Research says adult pedestrians and cyclists hit by an SUV or LTV are 44% likely to suffer fatal injuries than if hit by a smaller vehicle. (Envato Elements pic) PARIS : Recent UK research reveals the extent to which sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and light transport vehicles (LTVs) present an increased risk to pedestrians and cyclists in the event of a collision, compared to more conventionally sized cars. According to the study conducted by researchers at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Imperial College London, pedestrians and cyclists hit by an SUV or LTV are 44% more likely to suffer fatal injuries than if hit by another vehicle. The odds are even worse for children, with an 82% increase in the likelihood of death if hit by an SUV or LTV. These figures are all the more worrying given that SUVs have never been so popular, now accounting for almost half of all sales in both the United States and Europe. In Malaysia, nearly 180,000 units of SUV models priced under RM200,000 were sold last year. It's hardly surprising, then, that SUVs are directly involved in 45% of car crashes in the US and 20% in Europe. In fact, if all SUVs were replaced by smaller cars, the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed in road collisions would fall by around 17% and 8% in these regions, respectively. This proportion would be even greater for children, with an estimated reduction of 27% in the United States and 14% in the European continent. The study underlines that, because of their size and body structure, children are particularly vulnerable. To obtain these results, the researchers reviewed and analysed data from 24 studies across Europe and the US, covering some 682,509 collisions over a 35-year period. In the course of their study, they identified a number of factors that explain why SUVs are so dangerous, especially for vulnerable road users. Firstly, their height means that pedestrians and cyclists are hit higher on the body, with an even greater risk of being knocked off balance or hit on the head. Furthermore, the weight and rigidity of these vehicles result in far greater impacts during a collision. Ultimately, the researchers' findings lend additional weight to policies aimed at limiting the use of large vehicles in urban environments for ecological reasons.
