Hotspots in climate change and human health
BMJ 2002; 325 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.325.7372.1094 (Published 09 November 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;325:1094Data supplement
Table A Temperature thresholds (in °C) of pathogens and vectors
Disease Pathogen Tmin Tmax Vector Tmin for vector Malaria Plasmodium falciparum 16-19 33-39 Anopheles Biological activity: 8-10 Malaria Plasmodium vivax 14.5-15 33-39 Anopheles Biological activity: 8-10 Chagas disease Trypanosoma cruzi 18 38 Triatomine bugs Survival: 2-6 Biological activity: 20
Schistosomiasis Cercaria 14.2 >37 Snails (Bulinus and others) Biological activity: 5 Optimum range: 25±2
Dengue fever Dengue virus 11.9 not known Aedes 6-10 Lyme disease Borrelia burdorferi No yet determined Ixodes ticks 5-8 Tmin is the minimum temperature required for disease transmission. Tmax for the pathogen is the upper threshold beyond which temperatures are lethal. Tmax for vectors are not provided.
Note: temperatures assume optimum humidity, vector survival decreases rapidly as dryness increases. The variation in these thresholds within and between species is considerable.
Reprinted from McCarthy J, Canziani O, Leary N, Kokken D, White K. Climate change 2001: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. (UN Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change. Third assessment report, with permission from the IPCC Secretariat.
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