The global carbon emission rate, due to energy-driven consumption of fossil fuels and anthropogenic activities, is higher than at any point in history, disrupting the global carbon cycle and contributing to a major cause of warming of the planet with air and ocean temperatures rising dangerously over the last century. Climate change presents challenges both direct and indirect for livestock production and health. With more frequent extreme weather events including increased temperatures, livestock health is affected by resulting heat stress, metabolic disorder, oxidative stress and immune suppression resulting in an increased propensity for disease incidence and death. Indirect health effects relate to multiplication and distribution of parasites, reproduction, virulence and transmission of infectious pathogens and/or their vectors. Managing the growing crossbreeding livestock industry in Bangladesh is also at the coalface for the emerging impacts of climate change, with unknown consequences for the incidence of emerging and re-emerging diseases. Bangladesh is now one of the most vulnerable nations to global climate change. The livestock sector is considered a major part of food security for Bangladesh, alongside agriculture, and with one of the worlds largest growing economies the impacts are exaggerated with this disaster. There has been no direct study conducted on the impact of climate change on livestock health and the diseases that occur in Bangladesh. This review looks to explore the linkage between climate change and livestock health from the Bangladesh perspective.
Key words: Climate change, Heat stress, Oxidative stress, Animal health, Food security.
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