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Dr. Joseph L. Servadio
Postdoctoral Scholar at the Penn State University Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
Climate change has been one of the primary concerns for governments, societies, and environmental scientists across the globe for the last decade, with the impact on economies being the chief driving factor for encouraging or enforcing control measures. However, understanding the implications on healthcare and the changing prevalence of infectious diseases is equally critical to saving lives.
That is precisely what Joseph Servadio and his team from Brown University explored in their research ‘Climate patterns and mosquito-borne disease outbreaks in South and Southeast Asia’.
Data is critical to enabling research and new ways of thinking and building evidence to truly make a difference in regions and countries. Combining data for infectious diseases with climate change data can be a huge undertaking that can provide us with a deeper understanding of community health and environmental science.
‘These studies are important for specifying where disease outbreaks can take place. Since the natural environment and level of human development can vary greatly within and across countries, it is vital to recognize that different locations likely have different risk levels for infectious diseases. For mosquito-borne diseases, climate change is likely to affect mosquito habitats and change the risk of outbreaks. Some areas may become more suitable habitats and see greater risk while others may become less suitable and see less risk,’ said Joseph.
Access to the GIDEON’s data was crucial to identifying where and when outbreaks were occurring and it can be used to see how climate change impacts infectious diseases.
‘Having global data in one place is really appealing. Our study covers several countries in South and Southeast Asia and having data for multiple countries compiled in one source is extremely helpful in saving on time otherwise needed to collect data from multiple sources and piece them together.’
GIDEON is the most comprehensive database of historical and current infectious disease outbreaks, encompassing 235 countries and territories.
GIDEON renders interactive maps of disease distribution and outbreaks.
GIDEON provides an in-depth analysis of global disease spread. The database provides information on 25,000+ historical outbreaks and crossborder events, 83,000+ surveys, and 23,600+ country-specific notes.
GIDEON is curated by a team of highly regarded medical scientists who are updating the database daily.