Experts discuss the impact of climate change on tick-borne pathogens in western, central and eastern Africa

Africa is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, impacting the emergence, re-emergence and spread of vector-borne diseases. The epidemiology of tick-borne diseases in tropical Africa is complex, often characterized by co-infection of livestock and wildlife with multiple tick-borne pathogens.

Added to this complexity is the diversity of livestock production systems on the continent, ranging from extensive pastoral systems in rangelands to intensive zero-grazing systems in the cooler highland regions.

To explore the impact of climate change on tick-borne pathogens, scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute, the University of Nairobi and Washington State University contributed an expert opinion to a newly published book, Climate, ticks and disease.

The expert opinion is summarized in a chapter that discusses the potential impact of climate change on vector abundance, survival and transmission of tick-borne pathogens in western, central and eastern Africa.

Photo credit: Tick research in ILRI’s biotechnology labs in Nairobi, Kenya (ILRI/David White)