Journal of Science Policy & Governance
​Volume 19, Issue 01 | November 01, 2021

Policy Memo: Mitigating Climate Change’s Impact on Tick-Borne Zoonotic Disease Emergence

Conner S. Philson (1)*, Lyndsey Gray (2), Lindsey Pedroncelli (3), William M. Ota (4)*
  1. University of California Los Angeles, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Los Angeles, CA
  2. Colorado State University, Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology Department, Fort Collins, CO
  3. University of California Riverside, Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Riverside, CA
  4. University of California Riverside, Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Riverside, CA

*The author submitted this article in a personal capacity and was accepted prior to joining the JSPG editorial board. They did not contribute to selecting or editing the article as an editorial board member.

Corresponding author: [email protected]
Keywords: zoonotic disease; ticks; tick-borne disease; climate change; intergovernmental organizations; public health

Executive Summary

Disease transmission from animals to humans — called a zoonotic disease — is responsible for nearly 60% of emerging infectious diseases. While zoonotic diseases already pose a major risk to humanity, global climate change and its causal human behaviors are compounding zoonotic disease risk. Dynamic species distributions, increased species overlap, and alterations in human land use increase the risk of disease transmission from non-humans to humans. Ticks, which carry many human disease-causing agents, are a primary example. As 23% of emerging infectious diseases globally are spread by blood-feeding arthropods, such as ticks, managing and monitoring tick distributions and their overlap and potential contact with humans is vital to decrease the risk of zoonotic disease transmission. While some programs are already in place, expanding current and implementing new programs across the globe is pertinent. We propose enhancing international collaboration and communication efforts through intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO), to better research, monitor, and mitigate the risk of tick-borne zoonotic disease. By focusing international efforts on ticks, subsequent zoonotic disease-climate change research and monitoring efforts can be done across species.

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Background photo expanded from "Mitigating Climate Change’s Impact on Tick-Borne Zoonotic Disease Emergence" by Philson et. al - Figure 1: Infographic of the dangerous cycle that climate change creates for zoonotic diseases. Humans expand the wildlife-urban interface, and climate change continues to homogenize habitats, creating areas of increased biodiversity where novel species interactions can occur. These interactions present an increased risk for the spread of zoonotic diseases.
​Conner S. Philson is a Ph.D. Candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA studying the evolution and consequences of social behavior using the yellow-bellied marmot population at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Colorado. His science policy work focuses on combating climate change, environmental degradation, and loss of biodiversity by communicating science to voters and policy makers. He plans to pursue a career in science policy.
 
Lyndsey Gray is a Ph.D. Candidate in Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology at Colorado State University studying novel malaria transmission preventatives in Burkina Faso, Africa. She is also an infectious disease epidemiologist with an MSPH from Emory University and has experience working at the CDC in Atlanta. Her professional interests center on science diplomacy, with particular emphasis on global health, biodefense preparation, international tech policy, climate change resiliency, and space diplomacy.
 
Lindsey Pedroncelli is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology at UC Riverside and a current Co-Chair of the UCR Science to Policy Student Cabinet. She studies Macrophomina charcoal rot, a soil borne fungal disease that kills strawberry plants. Her research focuses on the infection cycle of the fungus and the role of soil moisture in disease development and management. She is passionate about agriculture, science policy, and science communication.
 
William M. Ota is a Freshwater Ecologist and Ph.D. Candidate in Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at UCR Riverside studying the effects of urbanization and invasive species on aquatic ecosystems. He uses the Santa Ana River in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties as a study system because it is an effluent-dominated, urbanized river containing endemic and invasive species. He has previously served as the executive chair of UC Riverside Science to Policy and is currently the Scholarship Program Coordinator for the National Science Policy Network.

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