An Agent-based Model of Food-borne Diseases Under Climate Change Scenarios in Mexico City: The Risk of Street-food in a Warming City

摘要

Food is a conventional vehicle for pathogens to reach and infect new hosts. Distinctively, street food is a major source of food-borne diseases and climate change effects will intensify this by increasing the mean surface temperature and thus, the microorganisms growth rate. Through this research we present a preliminary agent-based model that simulates at various levels the dynamic of street-food consumers and food-borne disease under climate change scenarios, using tunable parameters such as hygiene level, microorganisms growth rate and number of consumers. The results show that the model has the potential to be a useful tool for optimizing decision-making and urban planning strategies related to health and climate change.