Infectious Diseases, Urbanization and Climate Change: Challenges in Future China

Tong, Michael; Hansen, Alana; Hanson-Easey, Scott; Cameron, Scott; Xiang, Jianjun; Liu, Qiyong; Sun, Yehuan; Weinstein, Philip; Han, Gil‐Soo; Williams, Craig R.; Bi, Peng

doi:10.3390/ijerph120911025

Cited by 63 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(44 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This increase could be due to different reasons, such as urbanization, landscape changes, and the reduction of biodiversity [35]. It may also indicate that current vector control programmes need to be further improved.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions of malaria control and prevention in an era of climate change: a cross-sectional survey among CDC staff in China

Tong

Hansen

Hanson-Easey

et al. 2017

Malar J

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThough there was the significant decrease in the incidence of malaria in central and southwest China during the 1980s and 1990s, there has been a re-emergence of malaria since 2000.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted amongst the staff of eleven Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in China to gauge their perceptions regarding the impacts of climate change on malaria transmission and its control and prevention. Descriptive analysis was performed to study CDC staff’s knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and suggestions for malaria control in the face of climate change.ResultsA majority (79.8%) of CDC staff were concerned about climate change and 79.7% believed the weather was becoming warmer. Most participants (90.3%) indicated climate change had a negative effect on population health, 92.6 and 86.8% considered that increasing temperatures and precipitation would influence the transmission of vector-borne diseases including malaria. About half (50.9%) of the surveyed staff indicated malaria had re-emerged in recent years, and some outbreaks were occurring in new geographic areas. The main reasons for such re-emergence were perceived to be: mosquitoes in high-density, numerous imported cases, climate change, poor environmental conditions, internal migrant populations, and lack of health awareness.ConclusionsThis study found most CDC staff endorsed the statement that climate change had a negative impact on infectious disease transmission. Malaria had re-emerged in some areas of China, and most of the staff believed that this can be managed. However, high densities of mosquitoes and the continuous increase in imported cases of malaria in local areas, together with environmental changes are bringing about critical challenges to malaria control in China. This study contributes to an understanding of climate change related perceptions of malaria control and prevention amongst CDC staff. It may help to formulate in-house training guidelines, community health promotion programmes and policies to improve the capacity of malaria control and prevention in the face of climate change in China.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12936-017-1790-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions of malaria control and prevention in an era of climate change: a cross-sectional survey among CDC staff in China

Tong

Hansen

Hanson-Easey

et al. 2017

Malar J

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Nevertheless, China is changing and factors such as globalization, rapid urbanization and a warming climate (Tong et al., ) can be a threat to population health. Diseases such as dengue fever that are imported by travellers can cause major outbreaks (Zhao et al., ) that are difficult to contain.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experts' Perceptions on China's Capacity to Manage Emerging and Re‐emerging Zoonotic Diseases in an Era of Climate Change

Hansen

Xiang

Liu

et al. 2016

Zoonoses and Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Zoonotic diseases transmitted by arthropods and rodents are a major public health concern in China. However, interventions in recent decades have helped lower the incidence of several diseases despite the country's large, frequently mobile population and socio-economic challenges. Increasing globalization, rapid urbanization and a warming climate now add to the complexity of disease control and prevention and could challenge China's capacity to respond to threats of emerging and re-emerging zoonoses. To investigate this notion, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 30 infectious disease experts in four cities in China. The case study diseases under discussion were malaria, dengue fever and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, all of which may be influenced by changing meteorological conditions. Data were analysed using standard qualitative techniques. The study participants viewed the current disease prevention and control system favourably and were optimistic about China's capacity to manage climate-sensitive diseases in the future. Several recommendations emerged from the data including the need to improve health literacy in the population regarding the transmission of infectious diseases and raising awareness of the health impacts of climate change amongst policymakers and health professionals. Participants thought that research capacity could be strengthened and human resources issues for front-line staff should be addressed. It was considered important that authorities are well prepared in advance for outbreaks such as dengue fever in populous subtropical areas, and a prompt and coordinated response is required when outbreaks occur. Furthermore, health professionals need to remain skilled in the identification of diseases for which incidence is declining, so that re-emerging or emerging trends can be rapidly identified. Recommendations such as these may be useful in formulating adaptation plans and capacity building for the future control and prevention of climate-sensitive zoonotic diseases in China and neighbouring countries.

show abstract

“…Thirdly, and more seriously, temperature rises due to climate change could alter the spread of human diseases (Bai et al, 2013;Reiner et al, 2012;Tong et al, 2015;Yang et al, 2009). Many tropical diseases, such as Dengue Fever, Malaria, and other intestinal diseases like Brothers Mouth Disease, that were once epidemic in tropical cities, would migrate northward (Gething et al, 2010).…”

Section: Warming Trends and Increasing Temperature Extremesmentioning

confidence: 99%

China's adaptation to climate & urban climatic changes: A critical review

Ren

2018

Urban Climate

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Since the conclusion of the 2014 Climate Summit in New York and the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris, China has been actively advancing its national policies on climate change mitigation and adaptation since more unpredictable extreme weather events are expected, which may incur a heavy cost in terms of economics and public health. Since China is still in the process of urbanisation, the greatest challenge it faces is finding a balance between economic growth and keeping carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emission rates at a manageable level. Cities in China play a key role in the implementation of the central policies and make concrete actions in response to climate change. With reference to a series of recent policy papers and action plans as the background, this paper attempts to provide a critical overview of China's climate change action plans from the national to the city and urban level. It seeks to understand whether the proposed responses to climate change and strategies for actions on greening and air corridors for cities and urban areas are appropriate. It is found that for China to advance its urban climatic adaptation strategy there is a need for (1) urban data, (2) a cross-disciplinary impact assessment, and (3) the development of a market and policy transformation mechanism.

show abstract

Infectious Diseases, Urbanization and Climate Change: Challenges in Future China

Cited by 63 publications

References 38 publications

Perceptions of malaria control and prevention in an era of climate change: a cross-sectional survey among CDC staff in China

Perceptions of malaria control and prevention in an era of climate change: a cross-sectional survey among CDC staff in China

Experts' Perceptions on China's Capacity to Manage Emerging and Re‐emerging Zoonotic Diseases in an Era of Climate Change

China's adaptation to climate & urban climatic changes: A critical review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About