Department Seminar: Rachel Baker

Title: Climate drivers of infectious disease: past, present, and future

Abstract: The climate is a known driver of many infectious diseases. For directly-transmitted infections, such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the climate determines seasonal patterns of infection and geographic differences in epidemic intensity. Given this relationship, climate change could play a role in altering future infection patterns, however key questions remain. In this talk, I will discuss the implications of climate change for directly-transmitted diseases, and the differing role climate plays for endemic diseases versus pandemic outbreaks such as SARS-CoV-2.