- About this Journal
- Abstracting and Indexing
- Aims and Scope
- Article Processing Charges
- Articles in Press
- Author Guidelines
- Bibliographic Information
- Citations to this Journal
- Contact Information
- Editorial Board
- Editorial Workflow
- Free eTOC Alerts
- Publication Ethics
- Reviewers Acknowledgment
- Submit a Manuscript
- Subscription Information
- Table of Contents
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases
Volume 2009 (2009), Article ID 385487, 13 pages
doi:10.1155/2009/385487
Climate Change and Malaria in Canada: A Systems Approach
1Department of Geography, McGill University, 805 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada
2McGill University Centre for Tropical Diseases, Montreal General Hospital, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3G 1A4, Canada
3Division of Clinical Epidemiology, McGill University Health Centre, Royal Victoria Hospital, V Building, 687 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, QC, H3A 1A1, Canada
4Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1A2, Canada
5Public Health Agency of Canada and Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, CP 5000, Saint Hyacinthe, QC, J2S 7C6, Canada
Received 9 January 2008; Accepted 27 March 2008
Academic Editor: Bettina Fries
Copyright © 2009 L. Berrang-Ford et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
This article examines the potential for changes in imported and autochthonous malaria incidence in Canada as a consequence of climate change. Drawing on a systems framework, we qualitatively characterize and assess the potential direct and indirect impact of climate change on malaria in Canada within the context of other concurrent ecological and social trends. Competent malaria vectors currently exist in southern Canada, including within this range several major urban centres, and conditions here have historically supported endemic malaria transmission. Climate change will increase the occurrence of temperature conditions suitable for malaria transmission in Canada, which, combined with trends in international travel, immigration, drug resistance, and inexperience in both clinical and laboratory diagnosis, may increase malaria incidence in Canada and permit sporadic autochthonous cases. This conclusion challenges the general assumption of negligible malaria risk in Canada with climate change.