A new report by the American Society for Microbiology outlines strategies to strengthen global health preparedness amid climate change impacts on infectious diseases.
A new report released by the American Society for Microbiology, in collaboration with the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and other organizations, charts a path forward for addressing the growing threat of climate-driven infectious diseases. The report, developed through expert discussions at an October 2025 colloquium, identifies critical research gaps and outlines steps to build more resilient public health response systems.
Climate change is reshaping the landscape of infectious disease by altering temperature patterns, precipitation levels, sea level rise, and extreme weather events. These changes impact the ecology, evolution, distribution, and prevalence of disease reservoirs, hosts, vectors, and pathogens. As a result, new diseases are emerging in unexpected regions, while others that were once uncommon are reappearing.
The report highlights the urgent need for expanded detection and attribution studies to better quantify how specific climate shifts drive health outcomes. It also emphasizes the importance of cross-sector collaboration among microbiologists, climate scientists, epidemiologists, and data modelers to build surveillance systems that can anticipate emerging risks and prepare public health responses more effectively.
"Climate change is moving infectious disease risks into new areas at an accelerating pace," said Jay Lennon, Ph.D., Co-Chair of the Colloquium Steering Committee. "Better detection and attribution science will be crucial in helping us understand where these risks are headed and how to protect communities."
The report underscores the critical role that microbes play in climate change modeling and outlines microbial solutions to mitigate methane emissions. It also warns of a "creeping catastrophe" as climate change drives an increase in infectious diseases.
"This is the sixth and final report from the American Academy's Climate Change & Microbes Scientific Portfolio," said Madeleine Thomson, Ph.D., Colloquium Steering Committee member. "By combining perspectives across disciplines, we can develop more robust surveillance systems that are faster, more predictive, and better equipped to protect global health."
The findings of this report will be further explored by the American Society for Microbiology's Applied and Environmental Microbiology (AEM) Scientific Unit, which aims to translate microbial discoveries into solutions that enhance climate resilience. The Academy is also set to announce its next scientific portfolio in the coming months.
As the world grapples with the impacts of climate change on infectious diseases, this report serves as a critical guide for policymakers, researchers, and public health officials to build more resilient systems capable of responding effectively to emerging threats.
