Climate Change Impact Assessment of Food- and Waterborne Diseases

Abstract

The PubMed and ScienceDirect bibliographic databases were searched for the period of 1998–2009 to evaluate the impact of climatic and environmental determinants on food- and waterborne diseases. The authors assessed 1,642 short and concise sentences (key facts), which were extracted from 722 relevant articles and stored in a climate change knowledge base. Key facts pertaining to temperature, precipitation, water, and food for 6 selected pathogens were scrutinized, evaluated, and compiled according to exposure pathways. These key facts (corresponding to approximately 50,000 words) were mapped to 275 terminology terms identified in the literature, which generated 6,341 connections. These relationships were plotted on semantic network maps to examine the interconnections between variables. The risk of campylobacteriosis is associated with mean weekly temperatures, although this link is shown more strongly in the literature relating to salmonellosis. Irregular and severe rain events are associated with Cryptosporidium sp. outbreaks, while noncholera Vibrio sp. displays increased growth rates in coastal waters during hot summers. In contrast, for Norovirus and Listeria sp. the association with climatic variables was relatively weak, but much stronger for food determinants. Electronic data mining to assess the impact of climate change on food- and waterborne diseases assured a methodical appraisal of the field. This climate change knowledge base can support national climate change vulnerability, impact, and adaptation assessments and facilitate the management of future threats from infectious diseases. In the light of diminishing resources for public health this approach can help balance different climate change adaptation options.

Climate influence on Vibrio and associated human diseases during the past half-century in the coastal North Atlantic

“…3). Interestingly, V. cholerae and V. vulnificus were detected in this sample that had been collected in an area and period (summer 2006) when human infections associated with these pathogens were reported (14). The presence of V. vulnificus is noteworthy because this pathogen was identified as the causative agent of an unprecedented number of human infections reported in 2006, a time of the most intense heat wave experienced in Northern Europe (18).…”

“…Of particular relevance are an unprecedented number of domestically acquired human infections that occurred in Northern European countries and were associated with swimming/bathing in coastal waters (14)(15)(16)(17). Most of these cases were reported during heat waves (e.g., 1994,1997,2003,2006,2010), and it is expected that, as global warming continues, such events are likely to increase in frequency and intensity (18).…”

Impact of climate change on waterborne diseases

“…A strong link between rising summer water temperatures, prolonged summer seasons, and noncholera Vibrio sp. infections has been shown [60], even if Johnson et al [61] found that temperature explain only about 50% of the presence of V. paraemolytichus, and also that the pathogenic subpopulations respond differently than the whole population to temperature.…”

“…The Baltic Sea for instance provides an environment in which only small changes of the present conditions (e.g., temperature) result in increased Vibrio sp. populations [60].…”

Adaptation to the infectious disease impacts of climate change

“…It identifies possible options to improve current and future management of the burden of infectious diseases attributable to climate change, with a focus on developed countries and economies in transition in Europe. The potential health impacts of climate change from infectious diseases have been described elsewhere (Lindgren et al 2012;Semenza et al 2012a; Fig. 1 Determinants of climate change adaptation Semenza and Menne 2009).…”