climate change
RKI boss: We must prepare for exotic diseases
Lothar Wieler is chairman of the Robert Koch Institute. photo
© Carsten Koall/dpa
Global warming could once again make Germany a habitat for mosquitoes and ticks that transmit exotic diseases, said RKI chairman Wieler. The medical profession should be made aware of this.
With a view to global warming, RKI chairman Lothar Wieler calls on exotic diseases in this country to be taken into account. “Climate change is leading to an expansion of mosquito and tick habitats in Germany,” the head of the Robert Koch Institute told the Funke media group newspapers.
“Many mosquito and tick species can transmit viral, bacterial and parasitic pathogens,” Wieler says. These can be, for example, Zika or dengue viruses. “A return of malaria caused by Plasmodium is also possible.” It is therefore important to sensitize the medical profession in this country to these diseases. “This is also a major concern of the RKI.”
Health policy spokesperson 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. to take.” The greatest danger with this subject would be “hostility to science and research.”