Strengthening the global response to climate change and infectious disease threats

Hess, Jeremy; Boodram, Laura-Lee G.; Paz, Shlomit; Stewart-Ibarra, Anna M.; Wasserheit, Judith N.; Lowe, Rachel

doi:10.1136/bmj.m3081

Cited by 35 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Increasingly, a growing number of infectious health outcomes are associated with climate change that are inequitably distributed within and between European countries. Weather parameters contribute in a nonlinear way to infectious disease transmission 3 and have been shown to be one of the key drivers of the emergence, re-emergence, and spread of infectious disease 4 , 5 . Moreover, they contribute to the survival, reproduction and distribution of disease pathogens and vectors, as well as to their transmission and geographical patterns 6 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change and infectious disease in Europe: Impact, projection and adaptation

Semenza

Paz

2021

The Lancet Regional Health - Europe

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Europeans are not only exposed to direct effects from climate change, but also vulnerable to indirect effects from infectious disease, many of which are climate sensitive, which is of concern because of their epidemic potential. Climatic conditions have facilitated vector-borne disease outbreaks like chikungunya, dengue, and West Nile fever and have contributed to a geographic range expansion of tick vectors that transmit Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis. Extreme precipitation events have caused waterborne outbreaks and longer summer seasons have contributed to increases in foodborne diseases. Under the Green Deal, The European Union aims to support climate change health policy, in order to be better prepared for the next health security threat, particularly in the aftermath of the traumatic COVID-19 experience. To bolster this policy process we discuss climate change-related hazards, exposures and vulnerabilities to infectious disease and describe observed impacts, projected risks, with policy entry points for adaptation to reduce these risks or avoid them altogether.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change and infectious disease in Europe: Impact, projection and adaptation

Semenza

Paz

2021

The Lancet Regional Health - Europe

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“…Researchers have projected that climate action would reduce noncommunicable [ 235 ] and communicable disease threats [ 236 ]. A recent study in Europe found that at least 51,000 premature deaths per year could be avoided by following guidelines on air pollution [ 237 ].…”

Section: Positive Externalities Of Mitigation and Adaptation: A Stmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive Externalities of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation for Human Health: A Review and Conceptual Framework for Public Health Research

Bikomeye

Rublee

Beyer

2021

IJERPH

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Anthropogenic climate change is adversely impacting people and contributing to suffering and increased costs from climate-related diseases and injuries. In responding to this urgent and growing public health crisis, mitigation strategies are in place to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) while adaptation strategies exist to reduce and/or alleviate the adverse effects of climate change by increasing systems’ resilience to future impacts. While these strategies have numerous positive benefits on climate change itself, they also often have other positive externalities or health co-benefits. This knowledge can be harnessed to promote and improve global public health, particularly for the most vulnerable populations. Previous conceptual models in mitigation and adaptation studies such as the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) considered health in the thinking, but health outcomes were not their primary intention. Additionally, existing guidance documents such as the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidance for Climate Resilient and Environmentally Sustainable Health Care Facilities is designed primarily for public health professionals or healthcare managers in hospital settings with a primary focus on resilience. However, a detailed cross sectoral and multidisciplinary conceptual framework, which links mitigation and adaptation strategies with health outcomes as a primary end point, has not yet been developed to guide research in this area. In this paper, we briefly summarize the burden of climate change on global public health, describe important mitigation and adaptation strategies, and present key health benefits by giving context specific examples from high, middle, and low-income settings. We then provide a conceptual framework to inform future global public health research and preparedness across sectors and disciplines and outline key stakeholders recommendations in promoting climate resilient systems and advancing health equity.

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“…Studying microbial evolution associated with climate change is a way of understanding the adaptation mechanisms of microbes, when facing changes in abiotic factors, such as: elevated temperature, increased CO 2 , increased salinity and altered water availability [ 47 ]. It is worth noting that there are some on-going discussions focused on how climate change is likely leading to increased health issues, namely by changes in microbial biodiversity and distribution, in microbial composition and function, in microbial physiological responses with phenotypic shifts and evolutionary adaptations, as well as cases of increased pathogenicity and potentially depressed immunity [ 6 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ]. It is now known that climate change aggravates the global spread of pathogens (vector borne, foodborne, airborne, waterborne and other environmental pathogens) and their associated diseases, stresses marine life causing disease and disrupting regular ecosystem functions, and increases antimicrobial resistance of microorganisms, threatening life on Earth, human health, and food security [ 53 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Pathogenicity in Space

Simões

Antunes

2021

Pathogens

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After a less dynamic period, space exploration is now booming. There has been a sharp increase in the number of current missions and also of those being planned for the near future. Microorganisms will be an inevitable component of these missions, mostly because they hitchhike, either attached to space technology, like spaceships or spacesuits, to organic matter and even to us (human microbiome), or to other life forms we carry on our missions. Basically, we never travel alone. Therefore, we need to have a clear understanding of how dangerous our “travel buddies” can be; given that, during space missions, our access to medical assistance and medical drugs will be very limited. Do we explore space together with pathogenic microorganisms? Do our hitchhikers adapt to the space conditions, as well as we do? Do they become pathogenic during that adaptation process? The current review intends to better clarify these questions in order to facilitate future activities in space. More technological advances are needed to guarantee the success of all missions and assure the reduction of any possible health and environmental risks for the astronauts and for the locations being explored.

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Strengthening the global response to climate change and infectious disease threats

Cited by 35 publications

References 66 publications

Climate change and infectious disease in Europe: Impact, projection and adaptation

Climate change and infectious disease in Europe: Impact, projection and adaptation

Positive Externalities of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation for Human Health: A Review and Conceptual Framework for Public Health Research

Microbial Pathogenicity in Space

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