Climate Change and Water-Related Infectious Diseases

Abstract

Background: Water-related, including waterborne, diseases remain important sources of morbidity and mortality worldwide, but particularly in developing countries. The potential for changes in disease associated with predicted anthropogenic climate changes make water-related diseases a target for prevention. Methods: We provide an overview of evidence on potential future changes in water-related disease associated with climate change. Results: A number of pathogens are likely to present risks to public health, including cholera, typhoid, dysentery, leptospirosis, diarrhoeal diseases and harmful algal blooms (HABS). The risks are greatest where the climate effects drive population movements, conflict and disruption, and where drinking water supply infrastructure is poor. The quality of evidence for water-related disease has been documented. Conclusions: We highlight the need to maintain and develop timely surveillance and rapid epidemiological responses to outbreaks and emergence of new waterborne pathogens in all countries. While the main burden of waterborne diseases is in developing countries, there needs to be both technical and financial mechanisms to ensure adequate quantities of good quality water, sewage disposal and hygiene for all. This will be essential in preventing excess morbidity and mortality in areas that will suffer from substantial changes in climate in the future.Atmosphere 2018, 9, 385 2 of 60 which do not suffer the consequences of extreme events to the same extent [4]. Due to the lifetime of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and the timescales associated with ocean warming, even if global CO 2 emissions were curtailed immediately, the effects on the earth's climate, including increasing temperatures and sea level rise would continue for a number of decades before starting to plateau [2]. However, this should be seen as a general call to action to reduce emissions as soon as possible, given that the impacts are likely to extend beyond current conditions and there are indications that economic investment now will be likely to reduce costs later [5]. There is also a need to develop adaptations to cope with changes in climate. Recent research highlighting the health benefits of limiting future temperature rises to the more ambitious target of 1.5 • C rather than 2 • C, in line with the Paris agreement of 2016, further emphasises the need to limit emissions [6].Climate change affects health in a number of ways, and the impacts vary both geographically and between different populations. A growing and ageing population in much of the world means that the proportion of the population who are vulnerable to the effects of climate change will increase in the future [7]. The most direct impacts from climate change are from the effects of high temperatures, and from acute impacts relating to extreme events such as storms, floods and heatwaves. These physical or meteorological stressors can produce direct health effects, such as physical injury, illness, or mental health impacts du...

Advancing Global Health through Environmental and Public Health Tracking

“…The latter perspectives are explored initially in research partnerships between national public health agencies operating EPHT programmes and academic or other relevant research institutions. An example is the establishment of "Health Protection Research Units" in the UK, providing 5-year research programmes on topics such as Health Impact of Environmental Hazards [71] contributing methods for indoor air tracking, and Environmental Change and Health [72] addressing the role of ecological factors such as those affecting the distribution of vectors [73], climate variability affecting infectious diseases [74][75][76] or coastal changes affecting toxin-producing algae [77], as well as social factors affecting use of green spaces and related health benefits [78].…”

Water Safety Plans and Climate Change Mitigation

“…As reported in several research papers (Patz et al 2005;Casimiro et al 2006;Levy et al 2006;Delpla et al 2009;McMichael and Wilcox 2010;Bouzid et al 2013;Santos 2014: Melrose andCareas 2015;Kostyla et al 2015;Nichols et al 2018), many prevalent human diseases are linked to climate fluctuations, from cardiovascular mortality and respiratory illnesses due to heatwaves to altered transmission of infectious diseases and malnutrition from crop failures. Climate-health relationships pose increasing health risks under future projections of climate change and the warming trend over recent decades has already contributed to increased morbidity and mortality in many regions of the world.…”

“…As waterborne and water-related diseases are sensitive to environmental conditions, changes in interactions between the water cycle and the climate system will modify the risk of waterborne diseases from the physical impacts. They will also influence the risk of famine, water shortages, decreased water quality, increased habitat for mosquitoes, shifts in seasonality of diseases, and contaminated recreational waters (Nichols et al 2018). Furthermore, there is consensus that climate change affects human health in a number of ways, and the impacts vary both geographically and between different populations (Patz et al 2005).…”

“…A review of the impacts of climate change on surface water contamination concluded that it was likely to increase the risk associated with drinking water supplied mainly during extreme climatic events. Pathogen risk may rise mainly due to elevated temperatures and extreme rainfall, especially in temperate countries (Nichols et al 2018). In addition, recent reviews demonstrated a clear trend for fecal contamination to be more common during the wet season, a finding that was generalizable across fecal bacteria indicators, methods of measurement, population setting, source type, and equatorial climate zone (Kostyla et al 2015).…”

Understanding the Impacts of Climate Change on Health to Better Manage Adaptation Action

“…Water related or water-borne diseases have devastating impacts on health worldwide, especially in developing countries. The relationship between these types of infectious disease and climate variability and change is reviewed by Nichols et al [13], who highlight that climate change poses a potential risk associated with the incidence of cholera, typhoid, dysentery, leptospirosis, diarrhoeal diseases and harmful algal blooms [13]. Although there are clearly direct links between weather conditions and infectious disease risk, the indirect effects of climate change which may drive population movements and conflict are also likely to affect the incidence of many water related infectious diseases.…”