Climate and Disease 12 Mark Question by Mrs F Summers https://padlet.com/fsummers/fi9vq6fn7c52l458 en-us 2021-01-19 15:34:22 UTC 2021-02-02 11:45:21 UTC hello@padlet.com Examine how climate change might affect the distribution of infectious diseases [12] fsummers https://padlet.com/fsummers/fi9vq6fn7c52l458/wish/1101760393 Write here:]]> 2021-01-19 15:34:36 UTC https://padlet.com/fsummers/fi9vq6fn7c52l458/wish/1101760393 Group 1 - Ross, Rachel and Amber fsummers https://padlet.com/fsummers/fi9vq6fn7c52l458/wish/1114067811 Amber introduction: Infectious diseases are spread by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. Infectious diseases can be contagious and non-contagious. Contagious diseases are easily spread by direct or indirect contact between people whereas non contagious diseases are spread by disease vectors such as mosquitoes, worms and their larvae. Climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature. An increase in temperature, causes ice caps to melt which increases sea levels, this can lead to catastrophic flooding. Precipitation is expected to intensify with climate change which creates aquatic habitats and stagnant pools of water, people rely on water from wells and surface waters which are contaminated. Altitude can cause changes in climate and disease habitats. Different players like the government and international agencies (eg UNICEF) can give relief to reduce short term effects but it’s hard for them to provide long term effects, especially to climate change as it’s a group effort. We will be discussing Malaria, the 2007 Bangladesh Floods and the West Nile Virus.

Rachel: One way climate change might affect the distribution of infectious diseases is that heavy rainfall increases the transmission rate of water-borne pathogens. Bangladesh experiences periods of heavy monsoon rainfall, especially in the year of 2007 in August, which results in flooding. This led to 60% of the country inundated and 9 million people displaced from their homes who lived in the Ganges-Brahmaputra catchment. Bangladesh is located in Southern Asia, experiencing warm conditions making the climate hot and humid, which combined with the large areas of flooding creates perfect conditions for water-borne pathogens to spread. However, climate change threatens more extreme flooding in the future, with more powerful cyclones, more rapid melting of snow and ice in the Himalayas and rising sea levels. As a result, flooding will become more frequent, creating conditions that will increase the incidence and spread of infectious diseases. As flooding has a direct impact on the water supply and sanitation, Bangladesh suffered from a severe epidemic of diarrhoea in 2007 when drinking water and food became contaminated from the diseases in flood water. In addition, there were other infectious water-borne diseases such as typhoid and hepatitis. Bangladesh has exceptionally high rural population densities which in many districts exceeds 1000 persons/km2. Therefore the water-borne diseases will spread faster between the population into the rural areas infecting larger proportions of the population due to climate change and increased flooding. 

Amber: Climate change is increasing temperature, rainfall and humidity this has stimulated the transmission of vector borne diseases and extended geographic range. Warmer and wetter conditions favoured the growth and spread of mosquitoes, which increases the severity and vulnerability of catching the West Nile Virus. The West Nile virus is transmitted by culex mosquitoes with birds being the main host for the virus. It 1st identified in 1937 in Uganda. High temperature favours the transmission and replication rates, hence why cases of the West Nile virus occurs during mosquito season which starts in the summer and why Texas is severely affected. It has spread globally and is prevalent throughout Africa, parts of Europe, West Asia, Australia and in parts of America. In 2012, 5500 cases were reported in the USA which doesn’t sound like much and not hugely significant especially when it can be prevented by fly nets and sprays.

Ross: Malaria is a mosquito borne infections disease that affects both human and animals. Mosquitoes thrive in warm and humid conditions, where temperatures are above 27 degrees. Malaria is most common in the tropics north and south of the equator, seen in counties such as Columbia and parts of Africa. As the climate is hot and humid. Climate change will lead to a rise in the distribution of Malaria, with global temperatures increasing mosquitoes will survive in new climates, such as the high altitude locations in Columbia and Ethiopia, this means the distribution of malaria will rise as the global temperatures increase so mosquitoes can survive. Increased precipitation will mean there will be large pools of open waters leading to the number of larvae to rise further spreading Malaria. These high altitude areas in Columbia and Ethiopia are vulnerable because of the low cases of Malaria, they will be unprepared and uneducated on how to full treat the disease.

Conclusion: Climate change will increase tropical diseases away from the equator, however may reduce influenza in which transmission is most efficient at lower temperatures. However, there are more diseases in warmer weather which are transmitted by vectors which will be more significant than reducing other diseases. I strongly agree that climate change effects the distribution of infectious diseases as when temperatures rise, disease increases further from the equator and at higher altitudes. 






WWW - outlined/defined infectious disease in intro 
Use fo figures and percentages - Bangladesh
Perhaps doesn’t need the line on the government aid?

]]> 2021-01-22 14:03:17 UTC https://padlet.com/fsummers/fi9vq6fn7c52l458/wish/1114067811 Group 2: Jack, Maisie and Hope fsummers https://padlet.com/fsummers/fi9vq6fn7c52l458/wish/1114071146 Maisie - Infectious diseases are diseases that can be spread by via pathogens such as parasites, bacteria, viruses, fungi etc. Infectious diseases can be divided into two categories; communicable infectious diseases, which can be spread easily via direct or indirect human contact, such as saliva, or non-communicable infectious diseases, which are spread via vectors such as mosquitos. Often, non-communicable infectious diseases fall into the zoonotic disease category and are spread from animals to people. Climate change can be defined as a long-term change in the earth’s global average temperature, usually being associated with global warming. Climate change is influential to climate change; however, it is not the only factor; human factors such as population movements, urbanisation, irrigation schemes, and the misuse of drugs such as malarial drugs. In this essay, I plan to discuss how environmental factors influence disease in both the Northern Hemisphere, and around the tropics and equator, as well as how human factors can exacerbate these diseases. 

Jack - Malaria, the world's most important and deadly tropical mosquito-borne parasitic disease, kills approximately 1 million people and afflicts as many as 1 billion people in 109 countries throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The global temperature has risen significantly over the past 100 years, with an accelerated warming trend since the mid-1950s, Elementary modelling suggests that this increase will enhance the transmission rates of mosquito-borne disease and widen its geographical distribution, with an increase in malaria, in particular, being identified as a potential impact of climate change. Climate change greatly influences the El Niño cycle that is known to be associated with increased risks of some diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, such as malaria and dengue fever. In dry climates, heavy rainfall can provide good breeding conditions for the mosquitoes. Increased humidity, droughts may turn rivers into strings of pools, the preferred breeding sites of mosquitos. It may not be possible to know how climate change affects malaria transmission, which depends on many factors such as population and demographic dynamics, drug resistance, insecticide resistance, human activities such as deforestation, irrigation, swamp drainage, etc, and their impact on the local ecology. Further, other impacts of climate change may cause increased susceptibility to malaria

Maisie - Climate change, however, also impacts disease in the Northern Hemisphere, for example the Anthrax virus in Siberia. Siberia's cold climate meant that the anthrax virus remained frozen in the permafrost of the area, and on average, Anthrax kills 2000 people and 1 million reindeer- much lower than other cold climate related disease deaths such as influenza in the UK. However, global warming has led to the permafrost that once trapped the virus melting, so much so that Anthrax can now spread to further distances. These people and animals have never been exposed to the virus, and therefore aren't resistant to the virus due to never being exposed to it becoming infected. In regards to human factors, Siberian Russia had the second lowest income per capita among Russia's eight federal districts, with relatively low income levels, meaning that - in addition to Russia being a BRIC country, the low income could mean people can't afford healthcare or the means to mitigate the disease, thus leading to more infection. Overall, the anthrax virus illustrated how both climate change and human factors can influence the distribution of infectious diseases. 

Hope- Another infectious disease is flu, which is a respiratory illness caused by viruses and originates among birds and other animals and then can be transmitted from person to person. In temperature regions in the northern hemisphere eg UK, epidemics of influenza, peak in winter months. Although the precise reason for this seasonality is not fully understood, it is known that transmission of the flu virus is most efficient at lower temperatures (e.g., 5 degrees) and when the atmospheric humidity is low. These conditions occur most in winter. This disease is influenced by climate change as the rapid weather variability caused by climate change increases the spread of flu epidemics, implying that the lapsed human immune system in winter cause by rapidly changing weather makes a person more susceptible to the flu virus. This causes flu epidemics to occur a lot earlier in the year than suspected, meaning that European countries can experience deadly epidemics even in summer months. This will mainly affect highly populated areas where the virus can be easily transmitted meaning that large urban areas will be most affected. However, it can have a global impact as the virus is easily transmitted and the increased interconnectedness of the world will increase the speed of the spread of the disease. So, in conclusion I agree that climate change does affect the distribution of infectious diseases.

Climate change can increase the transmission and prevalence of disease both in the tropics and northern hemisphere through its ability to create wider spanning areas in which disease can thrive. It can also have the ability to release diseases that were previously dormant through the melting of permafrost such as in Siberia, however human factors can exacerbate this issue, with a lack of access to healthcare and low income possibly further increases the likelihood of infectious disease spreading. I strongly agree that climate change impacts the distribution of infectious diseases, as a rise in temperature can lead to disease spreading further from the equator to high altitudes.]]> 2021-01-22 14:04:08 UTC https://padlet.com/fsummers/fi9vq6fn7c52l458/wish/1114071146 Group 3: Anna, Isaac, Will and Issy fsummers https://padlet.com/fsummers/fi9vq6fn7c52l458/wish/1114075217 Infectious diseases are those spread by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. Many infectious diseases are contagious, meaning they are transmitted from person to person, for example, bacterial infections such as typhoid or Ebola. However, they can also be non-contagious and these include diseases such as malaria which are spread by disease vectors. Climate change can have a large impact on the distribution of infectious diseases due to the epidemiology of each disease depending on conditions at different locations. This means that due to the long term change in global temperatures, it is likely that the prevalence of diseases may increase in some locations but may also decrease in others. This is also dependent on factors such as rainfall, rising sea levels and flooding. Rising temperatures are having a direct impact on the spread on Anthrax in areas such as Siberia due to permafrost melting and exposing the bacteria. However, rising temperatures are also causing ice to melt, leading to rising sea levels and therefore flooding in low lying locations such as Bangladesh. This means that the spread of water-borne diseases such as cholera increases in these locations, which can have devastating impacts on poor communities. 

In Ethiopia as a result of climate change Malaria cases will continue to rise as it starts to affect the more populated highland areas. With temperatures slowing rising and the parasite in the mosquito thriving under warmer conditions many people will be infected and potentially die. In a study published in the journal Science based on data between 1993-2005 it stated that malaria outbreaks at different altitudes were matched with temperature records to show that when the country is hotter there are more cases of Malaria, this then paired with the university of Michigan study stating that “the main implication is that with warmer temperatures we expect to see a higher number of people exposed to the risk of malaria in highland areas” shows the overall affects climate change can have on the spread of infectious diseases. With climate change continuing to rise and get worse on more moralities will occur. If the temperature increases by only 1°c an extra 3 million children will be affected, when also compared to their poverty mortality rates will be very high. Overall Climate change does then have a massive affect on the transmission of this zoonotic disease.

Another disease which has been impacted by climate change is Anthrax, this is caused by a bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis which can be found in the ground in soil and affects wild animals and humans in areas like South America and Eastern Europe. On average a year it kills 2000 people and up to 1 million reindeer. For example, where the ground is permafrost in a country like Siberia, Anthrax has been trapped in the ground and the permafrost revitalizes the bacteria. This has limited the distance anthrax can go and the effect it can have on wild animals and humans. However, in recent years, climate change has resulted in higher temperatures and therefore has caused places like Siberia to experience melting of the permafrost. At the moment, every year is getting worse with more Anthrax being around to infect more animals and humans. Climate change has allowed Anthrax to have more of an impact as it has cleared large areas of permafrost (Frozen ground). 

Overall, I agree that climate change has a significant impact on the distribution of diseases, for example malaria which is normally restricted by the climate it is in. This is because diseases are expected to spread and move to locations further from the equator and to higher altitudes which previously were not affected due to temperature increases in these regions which allow vectors to mature faster. Ad there is then a greater distribution of these diseases to the 

]]> 2021-01-22 14:05:03 UTC https://padlet.com/fsummers/fi9vq6fn7c52l458/wish/1114075217 Group 4: Charlie, Macy and Martha fsummers https://padlet.com/fsummers/fi9vq6fn7c52l458/wish/1114076294  Macy-Infectious diseases are diseases spread by pathogens such as bacteria and parasites. There are 2 types of infectious disease, Contagious and non-contagious. Contagious can be easily spread by direct or indirect contact between people, for example influenza. Non – contagious are spread by disease vectors such as mosquitos. For example, malaria. Noncontagious diseases also include zoonotic diseases which are transmitted from animals to humans. Climate change is both the global warming driven by human emissions of greenhouse gasses, and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Climate change is influential to temperature, rainfall and humidity but it is not the only factor that determines the spread and distribution of disease. Diseases can be spread due to many factors including crowded living and working conditions, inadequate sanitation, migration of people and lack of healthcare. I plan to discuss how climate change affects the distribution of malaria, influenza and smallpox. 

Martha-Malaria has a heavy presence in sub Saharan countries,  concentrated on and just south of the equator, impacting many LIDCs and EDCs. The Anopheles mosquitoes thrive in the hot and humid environments that the tropics and subtropics provide, whilst many of the population living in regions with high malaria transmission rates have developed some level of immunity, climate change with it’s rising seasonal temperatures and increased rainfall expanding these regions of prime mosquito habitats, leading to populations in highland regions such as the highlands of Ethiopia, becoming vulnerable due to the mosquitos being able to survive at these higher altitudes and infecting these populations which have no immunity as in the past were malaria-free.

 In temperature regions in the Northern Hemisphere, epidemics of the influenza, a contagious respiratory illness peak in winter months, this is because transmission of the virus is more efficient at lower temperatures of around 5 degrees. This disease isn’t necessarily influenced by climate change as it thrives in lower temperatures and when atmospheric humidity is low. Influenza is spread through direct contact between people. For example, it can be spread through road, rail and air transport networks which facilitate contact between carriers and a susceptible population. In 2009 the H1N1 flu virus became a pandemic via international flight routes and airports. In the USA it resulted in 61 million cases and 12,500 deaths. The distribution of influenza is more affected by physical and human barriers such as physical distance from the virus such as bodies of water. Human barriers such as travel restrictions, migration control and mass vaccination programs. So increases in temperature due to climate change might not affect the distribution of influenza as much as other contagious diseases that thrive in warmer temperatures. 

Climate change is a major factor why the prevalence of lymes disease across the US has grown . Lymes disease is a tick-borne disease caused by bacteria borrelia burgdorferi. Transmission occurs via tick bite and may result in the following symptoms: fever, fatigue, migraines and in rare cases arthritis. The transmission of disease is becoming more common throughout America as the average temperature across the country is rising, so there is more suitable environments for tick populations to survive and reproduce. This results in more people  being exposed to the disease as tick populations now exist further north in areas that have seen significant increase in average temperatures. In the last 10 years the number of reported lymes disease cases has dramatically increased across America, in 2005 (64,382) confirmed cases were reported compared to approximately (380,000) in 2015  (490.2% increase in number of cases per year). This insinuates that the rise of cases is predominantly due to climate change across the US, as this has provided an expansion of suitable environments for tick's to thrive, resulting a higher percentage of the population being exposed to the disease.






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