Mosquito- Disease Zika and Climate Change

Zika, a mosquito-born illness known to cause birth defects, has spread throughout two dozen countries in S.America. Experts say that climate change is playing a role in the spread of the disease. Increased rainfall, in part due to El Niño, a cyclical weather change event, has created a greater breeding ground for Mosquitos and increased heat has both allowed mosquitos to thrive and put more people outside to get the virus. 

This Environmental Health Article  explains the problem further.

I am personally concerned because I have a trip set up to go to Ecuador for Spring Break and again was hoping to work there this summer. This kind of illness is not something to kid around with and definitely making me reconsider my trips. 

But honestly the other side of the coin is that experts anticipate these kinds of mosquito-born illnesses to increase in the future due to climate change, so do I sit this trip out in hopes that these diseases will seize soon or do I confront the reality that very soon these kind of incidences aren't going to be just something I "wait out?"

And even that luxury of choosing not to go to disease-ridden areas will soon not be an option. Why? Because diseases are coming here. Here is a picture of a child from Texas who recently returned from South America and reported to bring back with him the Zika virus.  

And this disease will affect not only the health of many, but also hurt many other sectors. Increased taxes for the average person to cover the additional health care expenses needed to deal with these problems, and strangled tourism economies just to name a few.

Signs of global warming are popping up again and again- it's time we take more concrete steps to deal with this serious threat.