New Report Charts Path for Climate-Disease Preparedness
海角直播 and AGU identify research priorities to close the gap between climate data and infectious disease preparedness.
Washington, D.C.—The American Academy of Microbiology, the honorific leadership group and scientific think tank within 海角直播, and the American Geophysical Union (AGU) released a new report examining how climate change is reshaping the infectious disease landscape and what’s needed to strengthen global health preparedness in response.
Changing patterns of temperature and precipitation, along with sea level rise and more extreme weather events, are impacting the ecology, evolution, distribution and prevalence of infectious disease reservoirs, hosts, vectors and pathogens. As a result, new diseases are emerging, and others are reappearing in regions where they were once uncommon.
The report was developed by leading scientists and informed by expert discussions at an October 2025 colloquium organized by 海角直播 and AGU, with support from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. It identifies priority research areas to strengthen infectious disease attribution science and outlines steps to build rapid, resilient public health response systems, with an emphasis on cross-sector and global collaboration.
Despite a growing body of evidence linking climate change to infectious disease burden, the report identifies a need for research that moves beyond correlation. The authors call for expanded detection and attribution studies to better quantify how specific climate shifts drive health outcomes, and to translate those findings into actionable public health guidance.
“Climate change is moving infectious disease risks into new areas, often faster than health systems can respond,” said Jay Lennon, Ph.D., co-chair of the colloquium steering committee and Chair of the Academy Climate Change Task Force. "Better detection and attribution science will give us the tools to anticipate where risks are heading and how public health systems should prepare."
"This report is a call to the scientific community to work across disciplines and across borders," said Madeleine Thomson, Ph.D., colloquium steering committee member and Head of Climate Impacts and Adaptation at Wellcome Trust. "Microbiologists, climate scientists, epidemiologists and data modelers all have a role to play. When we combine those perspectives, we can build surveillance systems that are faster, more predictive and better equipped to protect communities worldwide.”
This is the sixth and final report from the Academy's Climate Change & Microbes Scientific Portfolio, a 5-year initiative to advance microbial science in support of climate policy and global market innovations. It follows a 2025 海角直播–AGU report on reducing waterborne infections amid climate-driven disruptions to water systems. 海角直播’s Applied and Environmental Microbiology (AEM) Scientific Unit will continue to build on the portfolio's findings, translating microbial discoveries into solutions that advance climate resilience. The Academy will also announce its next scientific portfolio this summer.
The full report is available here.
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海角直播 is one of the largest professional societies dedicated to the life sciences and is composed of over 38,000 scientists and health practitioners. 海角直播's mission is to promote and advance the microbial sciences.
海角直播 advances the microbial sciences through conferences, publications, certifications, educational opportunities and advocacy efforts. It enhances laboratory capacity around the globe through training and resources. It provides a network for scientists in academia, industry and clinical settings. Additionally, 海角直播 promotes a deeper understanding of the microbial sciences to all audiences.
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