Climate change could lead to an increased health threat in Scotland from mosquitoes.
The insects will be monitored along with migratory birds to spot emerging zoonotic pathogens – diseases that jump from animals to humans – including West Nile and Usutu Virus.
Glasgow University, UK Health Security Agency and UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology have been awarded £1.25million to better understand how climate change could increase the risks.
The research will also help scientists to prepare, over three years.
The project will be the first of its kind to assess the risk of mosquito-borne diseases in Scotland under current and future climate change scenarios.
Vector-borne diseases – including fleas, lice, mosquitoes and ticks – cause more than 700,000 deaths a year and account for more than 17 per cent of all infectious diseases.
Mosquitoes and ticks, in particular, represent a growing threat due to the fact they are both established and invasive to the UK but risks are linked to changes in land use and a changing climate.
Heather Ferguson, Professor of Infectious Disease Ecology at Glasgow University, said: “The importance of examining mosquito vectors and their pathogens, in a world in which the climate is changing, can’t be overstated.”
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