The idea that climate change is linked to the spread of a disease is not new. Some bacteria and viruses, after all, piggyback on an animal or insect, and the infectious advance depends on the host's reaction to climbing temperatures. Consider dengue, a disease once anchored to tropical climates by its host's penchant for heat and humidity, which is now pushing further north with its mosquito transits as the upper latitudes get warmer. But according to a study published this past June in PNAS, it's not only climbing temperatures that are worrisome; in the past, even heavy rains have altered the course of disease, though often in divergent directions.
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