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Abstract
Concerted action is needed to address public health issues raised by climate change.
In this Review we discuss infections acquired through various routes (arthropod vector,
rodent, water, food, and air) in view of a changing climate in Europe. Based on an
extensive review of published work and expert workshops, we present an assessment
of the infectious disease challenges: incidence, prevalence, and distribution are
projected to shift in a changing environment. Due to the high level of uncertainty
on the rate of climate change and its impact on infectious diseases, we propose to
mount a proactive public health response by building an integrated network for environmental
and epidemiological data. This network would have the capacity to connect epidemic
intelligence and infectious disease surveillance with meteorological, entomological,
water quality, remote sensing, and other data, for multivariate analyses and predictions.
Insights from these analyses could then guide adaptation strategies and protect population
health from impending threats related to climate change.