Malaria
Plasmodium parasites carried by Anopheles. Transmission is highly sensitive to rainfall and temperature — the anchor of climate-health research in the region.
CAMMISA
The Challenge
A changing climate is redrawing where mosquito-borne diseases can spread — and the evidence to plan for it does not yet exist in one place.
Draft · placeholder copyIn Southern Africa, malaria is transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes, while dengue and chikungunya are spread mainly by Aedes aegypti. Malaria is comparatively well documented; the other two are not — even as chikungunya outbreaks are reported elsewhere on the continent.
Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall, rapid urbanisation and population movement are changing where these diseases can spread. Without a shared evidence base, planning for that risk is difficult. CAMMISA exists to build it.
The three diseases
Dengue
A rapidly urbanising threat spread by Aedes aegypti, with outbreaks increasingly linked to extreme weather across urban and peri-urban settings.
Chikungunya
Spread by Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, extending its range as warming temperatures open new suitable habitats across the region.
The climate drivers
Temperature
Shapes mosquito survival, biting rate and the pace of parasite development.
Rainfall
Creates and removes the standing water where mosquitoes breed.
Urbanisation
Concentrates people and Aedes habitat, raising dengue and chikungunya risk.
Movement
Carries infection across borders, seeding outbreaks in new places.
Working on climate and mosquito-borne disease in Southern Africa?
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