What Climate Change Means for Human Health
By: Eve Murphy, '18
(CHAOS 2017 EDITION)
(CHAOS 2017 EDITION)
What images arise when we think of destruction caused by climate change? Perhaps large floods, extreme seasonal changes, or storms? What doesn’t come to mind as often is the threat of disease. There is a lack of attention being brought to a very serious issue, the urgency of which is demonstrated by countless scientific studies. As early as 1996, environmental scientists were projecting the increasing influence of dangerous infectious diseases, as a result of climate change.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease carried by the Anopheles mosquito , affecting over 650,000 people every year. The infected mosquito, which would be identified as a vector for this disease, carries the plasmodium parasite and flourishes in tropical environments. As warm and humid temperatures become more widespread, the area of potential impact of these mosquitoes widens. Over time a larger number of people are susceptible to the disease and the transmission cycle can even gain speed. This means that the process of the vector spreading a pathogen to a host and thus infecting it, can occur at quicker rates where conditions are favorable. Although resistance to diseases can evolve fairly quickly, that makes said diseases less of an acute risk, but does not eliminate them. That phenomenon applies to many infectious diseases but Malaria seems to be the most affected specifically by the changing climate.
In India, the risk of Malaria was shown to increase by five times its former amount, in the year following an El Niño event. Such an event brings large amounts of rainfall and an increase in temperature so, especially in the river-abundant Punjab region, the link between climate and malaria is distinctly evident. Dengue Fever is another disease transmitted by mosquitoes which was eradicated in the Florida keys decades ago. However a surge was seen in 2013, as warming has already allowed the disease to renew its existence in the area. Modelling methods have been utilized by scientists to exhibit that global temperature increases by 2-3ºC will put 3-5% more people at risk for these diseases which translates to several hundred million more people.
A new report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature has garnered attention as of October of 2016. The report discusses the increase of ocean temperatures leading to a spread of marine-related diseases and harmful algae blooms to the poles. There is a bacteria called Vibrio vulnificus that was previously an issue in the Gulf of Mexico because of its warm temperatures. It is incurred through the ingestion of infected oysters 89% of the time with often fatal effects. New outbreaks in Alaska and the Baltic Sea have been uncovered in recent years far north from its initial range. Ciguatera, a bearer of critical gastric and neurological damage has grown as algae blooms contaminate seafood with the toxins to cause it and several other diseases.
The spread of these diseases are a subset of the scientists’ predictions of climate change repercussions which are already showing themselves to be true. Many point out that the stamina of different regions in competing with these complications will be largely dependent on economic capabilities. The impacts on health and biodiversity for countless organisms will be many.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease carried by the Anopheles mosquito , affecting over 650,000 people every year. The infected mosquito, which would be identified as a vector for this disease, carries the plasmodium parasite and flourishes in tropical environments. As warm and humid temperatures become more widespread, the area of potential impact of these mosquitoes widens. Over time a larger number of people are susceptible to the disease and the transmission cycle can even gain speed. This means that the process of the vector spreading a pathogen to a host and thus infecting it, can occur at quicker rates where conditions are favorable. Although resistance to diseases can evolve fairly quickly, that makes said diseases less of an acute risk, but does not eliminate them. That phenomenon applies to many infectious diseases but Malaria seems to be the most affected specifically by the changing climate.
In India, the risk of Malaria was shown to increase by five times its former amount, in the year following an El Niño event. Such an event brings large amounts of rainfall and an increase in temperature so, especially in the river-abundant Punjab region, the link between climate and malaria is distinctly evident. Dengue Fever is another disease transmitted by mosquitoes which was eradicated in the Florida keys decades ago. However a surge was seen in 2013, as warming has already allowed the disease to renew its existence in the area. Modelling methods have been utilized by scientists to exhibit that global temperature increases by 2-3ºC will put 3-5% more people at risk for these diseases which translates to several hundred million more people.
A new report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature has garnered attention as of October of 2016. The report discusses the increase of ocean temperatures leading to a spread of marine-related diseases and harmful algae blooms to the poles. There is a bacteria called Vibrio vulnificus that was previously an issue in the Gulf of Mexico because of its warm temperatures. It is incurred through the ingestion of infected oysters 89% of the time with often fatal effects. New outbreaks in Alaska and the Baltic Sea have been uncovered in recent years far north from its initial range. Ciguatera, a bearer of critical gastric and neurological damage has grown as algae blooms contaminate seafood with the toxins to cause it and several other diseases.
The spread of these diseases are a subset of the scientists’ predictions of climate change repercussions which are already showing themselves to be true. Many point out that the stamina of different regions in competing with these complications will be largely dependent on economic capabilities. The impacts on health and biodiversity for countless organisms will be many.
Works Cited:
Brown, P. (n.d.). Warming Climate Accelerates Spread of Vector-Borne Diseases. Retrieved November 25, 2016, from http://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/disease/news/climate-vector-borne-diseases-tropical-malaria-1.htm
Rees, L. (2015, February 17). Study: Climate change leads to rapid emergence of infectious diseases. Retrieved November 25, 2016, from http://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/unltoday/article/study-climate-change-leads-to-rapid-emergence-of-infectious-diseases/
University of Texas at Austin. (2016, October 4). Rising ocean temperatures impacting human health. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 26, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161004110518.htm
Walsh, B., & Walsh, B. (n.d.). Infectious Disease Could Become More Common in a Warmer World. Retrieved November 25, 2016, from http://science.time.com/2013/08/02/infectious-disease-could-be-more-common-in-a-warmer-world-especially-for-plants-and-animals/
WHO | Climate change and human health - risks and responses. Summary. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2016, from http://www.who.int/globalchange/climate/summary/en/index5.html
Brown, P. (n.d.). Warming Climate Accelerates Spread of Vector-Borne Diseases. Retrieved November 25, 2016, from http://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/disease/news/climate-vector-borne-diseases-tropical-malaria-1.htm
Rees, L. (2015, February 17). Study: Climate change leads to rapid emergence of infectious diseases. Retrieved November 25, 2016, from http://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/unltoday/article/study-climate-change-leads-to-rapid-emergence-of-infectious-diseases/
University of Texas at Austin. (2016, October 4). Rising ocean temperatures impacting human health. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 26, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161004110518.htm
Walsh, B., & Walsh, B. (n.d.). Infectious Disease Could Become More Common in a Warmer World. Retrieved November 25, 2016, from http://science.time.com/2013/08/02/infectious-disease-could-be-more-common-in-a-warmer-world-especially-for-plants-and-animals/
WHO | Climate change and human health - risks and responses. Summary. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2016, from http://www.who.int/globalchange/climate/summary/en/index5.html