RKI President Wieler warns: The spread of dangerous diseases will increase in Germany
Created: 08/08/2022 13:41
By: Constantin Hoppe
RKI boss Lothar Wieler expects exotic infectious diseases to spread in Germany.
He calls for doctors to be made more aware.
Berlin – Climate change is also leading to higher temperatures over longer and longer periods in this country.
The President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lothar Wieler, warned on Monday that this could lead to the spread of dangerous diseases in Germany, which have so far been known primarily from the tropics.
The reason is climate change: the rising temperatures and the lengthening of the periods with summer temperatures favor the expansion of the habitats of mosquitoes and ticks.
"Many mosquito and tick species can transmit viral, bacterial and parasitic pathogens," said Wieler.
RKI warnings: Further research initiatives on tropical diseases required
The multiplication of viruses in mosquitoes is temperature-dependent, so that higher temperatures over longer periods of time increase the likelihood of infections from mosquito bites, explained Wieler.
Illness | Dengue fever |
---|---|
carrier | Yellow fever mosquito and Asian tiger mosquito |
symptoms | High fever (40 degrees Celsius), chills, headache, muscle and body aches |
These could be zika or dengue viruses, for example.
A return of malaria, which is caused by Plasmodium - a type of unicellular parasite - is also possible, said Wieler.
Other examples are the West Nile virus and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE).
So far, all of these diseases have only occurred in Germany after traveling to affected regions.
The RKI warns that mosquitoes and ticks could soon bring tropical diseases to Germany.
(Iconic image) © Patrick Pleul/dpa
According to the RKI, exotic diseases are spreading: Doctors must be made aware
That is why it is now important to sensitize doctors in this country to the possible occurrence of these diseases, says Wieler.
The health policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Andrew Ullmann, also agreed.
He also expects that due to the changed climate conditions, exotic diseases will appear in Germany in the future.
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"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," said Ullmann.
Ullmann said that the greatest danger with this topic is currently "hostility to science and research" among the population.
(con/dpa)