Extreme Weather Events and Pathogen Pollution Fuel Infectious Diseases: The 2024 Flood-Related Leptospirosis Outbreak in Southern Brazil and Other Red Lights
Marina Ziliotto,
José Artur Bogo Chies,
Joel Henrique Ellwanger
Affiliations
Marina Ziliotto
Laboratory of Immunobiology and Immunogenetics, Postgraduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology (PPGBM), Department of Genetics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 91501-970, Brazil
José Artur Bogo Chies
Laboratory of Immunobiology and Immunogenetics, Postgraduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology (PPGBM), Department of Genetics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 91501-970, Brazil
Joel Henrique Ellwanger
Laboratory of Immunobiology and Immunogenetics, Postgraduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology (PPGBM), Department of Genetics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 91501-970, Brazil
The emergence of infectious disease outbreaks and ‘superbugs’ related to pollution combined with climate change is a current problem, not just a future threat. In May 2024, an extreme flood hit the Rio Grando Sul State, southern Brazil, triggering an important leptospirosis outbreak in urban settings with deficient sanitation systems. This and other cases discussed in this article exemplify how extreme weather events exacerbate the consequences of environmental pollution by multiple classes of pathogens in the global scenario of increasing anthropogenic pressures on the environment. A combination of actions to combat climate change and improvements in sanitation systems is essential to mitigate this problem.
