Climate-sensitive infectious diseases (CSIDs) represent one of the most pressing challenges in global health today, and Dr. Madeleine Thomson has emerged as a leading voice in understanding and combating these evolving threats. As Head of Impacts and Adaptation at Wellcome, Thomson’s research focuses on the intricate relationships between climate change and infectious disease transmission patterns worldwide.
Thomson defines climate-sensitive infectious diseases as any infectious disease whose transmission and spread are influenced by changes and variations in climate and weather. These include diseases spread by air, food, water, or vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks, and flies. The vector-borne diseases that have received most media attention include dengue, Zika virus, malaria, Chikungunya, and yellow fever.
Her research demonstrates that almost all vector-borne diseases have a climate dimension. Both pathogens and vectors are highly sensitive to environmental conditions, with changes in temperature and rainfall having significant impacts on their spread. Thomson’s work shows that pathogens and vectors typically thrive in warmer climates, partly because there is a longer season in which vectors can live, breed, and transmit diseases.
One of Thomson’s key findings is that higher temperatures change the behavior of insect vectors dramatically. Adult mosquitoes reproduce more quickly and bite more frequently in warmer weather, while pathogens multiply faster within vectors under warmer conditions. This creates a higher concentration of disease-causing pathogens transmitted through insect bites, increasing infection rates and leading to quicker, more intense disease outbreaks.
Thomson’s expertise extends beyond temperature effects to include rainfall patterns and extreme weather events. Her research has shown how flooding in countries like Pakistan creates ideal breeding conditions for mosquitoes, leading to dramatic increases in malaria cases. She notes that Pakistan recorded 1.3 million malaria cases in 2024 following severe flooding, compared to 500,000 total cases in 2021.
Through her work at Wellcome, Thomson is funding 24 research teams across 12 countries to develop new digital tools responding to CSID threats. These teams integrate climate data with health information to improve disease outbreak prediction and management, including early warning systems that can predict dengue outbreaks up to two months in advance.
Thomson’s research emphasizes that vulnerable populations face greater risks from CSIDs, including children, elderly individuals, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems. Communities with limited healthcare access, inadequate housing, and poor sanitation are particularly susceptible to outbreaks.
Learn more about Dr. Thomson’s groundbreaking research at https://www.weforum.org/stories/authors/madeleine-thomson/, https://iri.columbia.edu/tags/madeleine-thomson/, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Madeleine_Thomson/3, and https://uk.linkedin.com/in/madeleine-thomson-04297825.