The Influence of Climate Changes on Respiratory Allergic and Infectious Diseases

Human activities are resulting in changes of global climate and environment. The likelihood that this trend in climate changes is due to antrophogenic causes is over 90%. These changes, in turn, have had, and will continue to have impacts on human health. Antrophogenic climate change is predicted to have range of effects on respiratory allergic and infectious and other allergic diseases over the coming decades, most of them negative. The possible effects of climate change are wide-ranging, and predicted to ocurr in the folowing areas: extreme temperature events, worsening of air pollution, altered aeroallergens, extreme weather events. A number of studies have revealed potential impacts of climate change on human health that may have an enormous clinical and public health significance. While such impacts have received increasing attention in recent years, the impact of climate change on aeroallergens and related allergic diseases have been somehow neglected. There are many research challenges along the road to a more complete understanding of the impact of climate change on aeroallergens and allergic diseases such as bronchial asthma and hay fever, so on the COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and respiratory infectious diseases. It is important that public health authorities and health professionals be aware of these changes in the climate and environment, and that research scientist embrace the challenges that face further work in this area.