Environmental transitions and health - Pasteur 2030

Aedes albopictus, mosquito vector of dengue and chikungunya © Institut Pasteur

Climate change favors the emergence of infectious diseases. Institut Pasteur deploys strategies integrating human, animal and environmental health to reduce these risks.

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Health challenges

Environmental transitions – climate change and ecological mutations – directly influence:

  • The emergence and transmission of infectious diseases
  • Their impact on human health

According to a study published in Nature Climate Change (2022), 58% of infectious or allergic diseases have already been aggravated by climate hazards linked to greenhouse gases.

According to WHO, between 2030 and 2050, climate change could cause 250,000 additional deaths per year due to:

  • Malnutrition
  • Malaria
  • Diarrhea
  • Heat waves

The economic impact is estimated between 2 and 4 billion euros per year (WHO).

How Institut Pasteur responds to this challenge

Institut Pasteur mobilizes its expertise in infectious diseases to anticipate climate-related health risks, based on the "One Health" approach that connects:

  • Veterinary research
  • Medical research
  • Environmental research

Our actions notably include:

  • Surveillance of pathogens via networks such as MedilabSecure
  • Research on arboviruses (dengue, chikungunya, Zika) through the AMAZED project
  • Use of cutting-edge laboratories for analyzing environmental effects on health, and for developing countermeasures, such as vaccines, rapid diagnostics and therapies

Flagship projects

Center for Infection, Climate and Environment (ICE)

Objectives:

  • Study emerging diseases caused by bacteria or parasites transmitted by vectors (ticks, mosquitoes)
  • Provide a secure environment with biosafety level 3 laboratories to study the most critical pathogens
  • Explore pathogen-vector-host interactions through advanced imaging technologies
  • Foster international collaboration and training of young researchers

Expected commissioning: mid-2028.

The Pasteur Pandemics Preparedness Initiative (P3I)

This initiative aims to strengthen pandemic response through 5 key actions:

  1. Deepen pathogen knowledge and their modes of propagation
  2. Stimulate the creation of countermeasures (vaccines, diagnostics, treatments)
  3. Improve epidemic intelligence through early detection and surveillance via National Reference Centers (CNR), the Emergency Biological Intervention Cell (CIBU) and the pathogen discovery laboratory
  4. Provide rapid response through the Outbreak Investigation Task Force (OITF) which provides scientific support and expertise to local authorities
  5. Establish activatable cohorts in case of epidemics to collect biological samples and accelerate research

 

 

 

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