Climate change and vector-borne diseases in Argentina

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) continue to pose a challenge to the efforts of public health agencies by increasing their impact on the health of the affected communities. The common feature of VBDs is that the only way of preventing them is by avoiding the contact between vectors and humans. There are no vaccines, and they will not be available shortly as tools for prevention and control in Argentina. Although dengue outbreaks attracted the attention of mass media from 2009, other VBDs have been affecting public health in Argentina for many decades, as Chagas disease and leishmaniasis. Over these, and others that could potentially settle in the national territory (West Nile, Lyme, etc.), there are repeated mass media claims and political declarations justifying their increase because of climate changes. The argument asserts that the "tropicalization" of the climate in temperate regions promotes the installation of VBDs in areas previously unfavorable for them. Although much evidence exists showing that the climate is changing, there is very little evidence that the climate is the main factor promoting the increase of VBDs. In this article, the influence of the so-called climate change on the situation of disease vectors in Argentina (with emphasis on triatomines) and vector control activities implemented by governmental public health agencies are discussed.