Climate change and health: global to local influences on disease risk
Authors: Patz, J.A.1; Olson, S.H.1
Source: Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Volume 100, Numbers 5-6, July-September 2006 , pp. 535-549(15)
Publisher: Maney Publishing
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Abstract:
The World Health Organization has concluded that the climatic changes that have occurred since the mid 1970s could already be causing annually over 150,000 deaths and five million disability-adjusted life-years (DALY), mainly in developing countries. The less developed countries are, ironically, those least responsible for causing global warming. Many health outcomes and diseases are sensitive to climate, including: heat-related mortality or morbidity; air pollution-related illnesses; infectious diseases, particularly those transmitted, indirectly, via water or by insect or rodent vectors; and refugee health issues linked to forced population migration. Yet, changing landscapes can significantly affect local weather more acutely than long-term climate change. Land-cover change can influence micro-climatic conditions, including temperature, evapo-transpiration and surface run-off, that are key determinants in the emergence of many infectious diseases. To improve risk assessment and risk management of these synergistic processes (climate and land-use change), more collaborative efforts in research, training and policy-decision support, across the fields of health, environment, sociology and economics, are required.Document Type: Review article
DOI: 10.1179/136485906X97426
Affiliations: 1: Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), the Nelson Institute and Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin, 1710 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53726, U.S.A.
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