GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND CHANGE IN DISEASES DISTRIBUTION (original) (raw)

Infectious Diseases, Climate Change Effects on

Infectious Diseases, 2012

Climate The weather averaged over a long time or, succinctly, climate is what you expect, weather is what you get! El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) A climate phenomenon whereby, following reversal of trade winds approximately every 4-7 years, a vast body of warm water moves slowly west to east across the Pacific, resulting in "an El Niño" event in the Americas and leading to a detectable change to climate (mostly disruption of normal rainfall patterns) across 70% of the earth's surface. Emerging disease An infection or disease that has recently increased in incidence (the number of cases), severity (how bad the disease is), or distribution (where it occurs). Endemic stability The counter-intuitive situation where the amount of disease rises as the amount of infection falls, such that controlling infection can exacerbate the problem. Infection The body of a host having been invaded by microorganisms (mostly viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and parasites).

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON DISEASES

ABSTRACT Climate change, together with other natural and human-made health stressors, influences human health and disease in numerous ways. Some existing health threats will intensify and new health threats will emerge. Public health can be affected by disruptions of physical, biological, and ecological systems, including disturbances originating here and elsewhere. The health effects of these disruptions include increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease, injuries and premature deaths related to extreme weather events, changes in the prevalence and geographical distribution of food- and water-borne illnesses and other infectious diseases, and threats to mental health. Global climate change may also affect the microbial evolution and their stress response, as well as the emergence of new pathogens. Over a long period of time, many bacteria have developed mechanisms allowing them to survive and even grow in the unfavorable stress conditions. All populations will be affected by climate change, but some are more vulnerable than others. People living in small island developing states and other coastal regions, megacities, and mountainous and polar regions are particularly vulnerable. Children – in particular, children living in poor countries are among the most vulnerable to the resulting health risks and will be exposed longer to the health consequences. The health effects are also expected to be more severe for elderly people and people with infirmities or pre-existing medical conditions.

Climate Change and Infectious Diseases

New South Wales Public Health Bulletin, 2007

When estimating or modelling the health impacts of climate change, there are many uncertainties due to incon-sistencies and gaps in global knowledge about climate vari-ability, lack of reliable data across populations, poor applicability of global models to local scenarios and incom- ...

ClimAte ChAnGe AnD its impACt on the heAlth

IIPA DIGEST OF Indian Institute of Public Administration, 2022

Today, worldwide, there is an apparent increase in many infectious diseases, which reflects the combined impacts of rapid demographic, environmental, social, technological and other changes in our ways of living. Climate change will affect infectious disease occurrence in humans. It is a known fact that climatic conditions affect epidemic diseases from long before the role of infectious agents was discovered, late in the nineteenth century. Changes in infectious disease transmission patterns are a likely major consequence of climate change. Climate changes include alternations in one or more climate variables including temperature, precipitation, wind, and sunshine. These changes may impact the survival, reproduction or distribution of disease pathogens and hosts, as well as the availability and means of their transmission environment. The health effects of such impacts tend to reveal as shifts in the geographic and seasonal patterns of human infectious diseases and as changes in their outbreak frequency and severity. Climate change is the prime health threat facing humanity and health professionals worldwide. Countries are already responding to the health harms caused by this unfolding disaster. Abundant literature addresses the factorial and potential impacts of climate change on many types of infectious diseases, including vector borne, water-borne, airborne, and food-borne diseases.

An integrated assessment framework for climate change and infectious diseases

Environmental Health Perspectives, 1999

Man.iy potenialhuman hel effects have ,been yot d t:o: result either direty or indrectl from glba cli e ade C.h.angesinthe prevence and spread of.ifectious diseases asme *o.f:the: most widely cited potential effects.o.f clima.te change, and c.oul.d. have. signifcant.cone-:quences for.human..... health as wel as ecoomi an socea impcs Thse:cagsi ies .incidence. would bemediated through. .b..io,logic,, :ecologic, .:sociologi,e adpeioloicpro ess *that i.nterac .:w ..itheach. other:an .wh.ic.h ma .themselves beinfl..... uenced byclimate change. .Althoug hypothesized .infectious disease.:effects:.have .been.widely: discussed,. th*ere have: no..nt yet bfe.en:thorough: quantitative.studies addressing: he man.processes atwork. pa is *ofthe complexit o.f teman inmdirect and.feedbc interactions o.r mechanisms that bear: onall .aspects.of the climate issu.e It also results from:thedifficultyofincdeo q always-anging determinants of these diseases..This paper propos.esa frameworkfor.an integrat-*.ed assessmentofthe impacts.*. climate change on in ts diseases. The framework. ..identificatio.n. of potentially imortant indirectin.teractions:.or mechanism, .identification of *::important ch gaps,.aa means of. integrating tared reearch.from.a variety of.disciplines into an enhancedunderst g o f whole. system.K o clate change,: infectiou. s

The ecology of climate change and infectious diseases: comment

Ecology, 2010

The projected global increase in the distribution and prevalence of infectious diseases with climate change suggests a pending societal crisis. The subject is increasingly attracting the attention of health professionals and climate-change scientists, particularly with respect to malaria and other vector-transmitted human diseases. The result has been the emergence of a crisis discipline, reminiscent of the early phases of conservation biology. Latitudinal, altitudinal, seasonal, and interannual associations between climate and disease along with historical and experimental evidence suggest that climate, along with many other factors, can affect infectious diseases in a nonlinear fashion. However, although the globe is significantly warmer than it was a century ago, there is little evidence that climate change has already favored infectious diseases. While initial projections suggested dramatic future increases in the geographic range of infectious diseases, recent models predict range shifts in disease distributions, with little net increase in area. Many factors can affect infectious disease, and some may overshadow the effects of climate.

Non-Infectious Diseases caused by The Risk of Climate Change on Earth

Global climate change is expected to have broad health impacts. These could occur through various exposure pathways, such as the frequency or intensity of extreme heat waves, floods, and droughts. Warmer air temperatures could also influence local and regional air pollutants and aeroallergens. Less direct health impacts may result from climate-related alteration of ecosystems or water and food supplies, which in turn could affect infectious disease incidence and nutritional status. Finally, sea level rise could potentially lead to massive population displacement and economic disruption. Some of the long-term and complex problems posed by climate change may not be readily discernible from other causal factors. Accordingly, expanded efforts are required in both classical and future-scenario-based risk assessment, to anticipate these problems. In addition, the many health impacts of climate change must be examined in the context of many other environmental and behavioral determinants of disease. Increased disease surveillance, integrated modelling, and the use of geographically-based data systems will enable more anticipatory measures by the public-health and medical communities. There are clear ethical challenges. The regions with the greatest burden of climate-sensitive diseases are often the regions with the lowest capacity to adapt to the new risks.