Salmonella and the changing environment: systematic review using New York State as a model

Climate change and the emergence and exacerbation of infectious diseases: A review

Experts expressed severe concerns over the possibility of increasing burden of infectious diseases as the planet's climate began to change years ago. There have been increased rates of climate-related catastrophes and as global temperatures rise, emergence of certain viruses has become a serious concern. Vectors are susceptible to changing temperatures as they exhibit innate responses to thermal stress to increase survivability. Climate change impacts virus reservoirs, increasing transmission rates of vectors. Vector-borne diseases have already witnessed increasing numbers compared to before. Certain non-endemic areas are encountering their first-ever infectious disease cases due to increasing temperatures. Tick-borne diseases are undergoing transformations provoking a heightened prevalence. Food-borne illnesses are expected to increase owing to warmer temperatures. It is important to recognize that climate change has a multivariable impact on the transmission of viruses. With climate change comes the potential of increasing interspecies interactions promoting jumps. These factors must be considered, and an informed strategy must be formulated. Adaptation and mitigation strategies are required to curb these diseases from spreading. Despite significant evidence that climate change affects infectious diseases, gaps in research exist. We conducted this review to identify the potential role climate change plays in the emergence of new viruses.

New York State Climate Impacts Assessment Chapter 07: Human Health and Safety

New Yorkers face a multitude of health and safety risks that are exacerbated by a changing climate. These risks include direct impacts from extreme weather events and other climate hazards, as well as indirect impacts occurring through a chain of interactions. Physical safety, physical health, and mental health are all part of the equation-as are the many nonclimate factors that interact with climate change to influence health outcomes. This chapter provides an updated assessment of all these topics at the intersection of climate change, public health and safety, and equity in the state of New York. Key findings are presented below.

The One Health aspect of climate events with impact on foodborne pathogens transmission

The ongoing effects of climate change have exacerbated two significant challenges to global populations: the transmission of foodborne pathogens and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through the food chain. Using the latest available scientific information this review explores how climate-related factors such as rainfall, floods, storms, hurricanes, cyclones, dust, temperature and humidity impact the spread of the foodborne pathogens Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Vibrio, Listeria, and Staphylococcus aureus. We explore the complex dynamics between environmental changes and the heightened risk of foodborne diseases, analysing the contribution of wildlife, insects and contaminated environments in the proliferation of AMR and climate change. This review paper combines a thorough analysis of current literature with a discussion on findings from a wide variety of studies to provide a comprehensive overview of how climatic factors contribute to the survival, persistence and transmission of bacterial pathogens in the food chain. In addition, we discuss the necessity for effective mitigation strategies and policies. By providing insights into the interrelationships between climate change and food safety, this review hopes to inform future research and policy development to promote safer and more sustainable food systems and further integration within the One Health approach.

Health effects of climate change: an overview of systematic reviews

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to develop a systematic synthesis of systematic reviews of health impacts of climate change, by synthesising studies' characteristics, climate impacts, health outcomes and key findings.

DESIGN

We conducted an overview of systematic reviews of health impacts of climate change. We registered our review in PROSPERO (CRD42019145972). No ethical approval was required since we used secondary data. Additional data are not available.

DATA SOURCES

On 22 June 2019, we searched Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Embase, Cochrane and Web of Science.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

We included systematic reviews that explored at least one health impact of climate change.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

We organised systematic reviews according to their key characteristics, including geographical regions, year of publication and authors' affiliations. We mapped the climate effects and health outcomes being studied and synthesised major findings. We used a modified version of A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews-2 (AMSTAR-2) to assess the quality of studies.

RESULTS

We included 94 systematic reviews. Most were published after 2015 and approximately one-fifth contained meta-analyses. Reviews synthesised evidence about five categories of climate impacts; the two most common were meteorological and extreme weather events. Reviews covered 10 health outcome categories; the 3 most common were (1) infectious diseases, (2) mortality and (3) respiratory, cardiovascular or neurological outcomes. Most reviews suggested a deleterious impact of climate change on multiple adverse health outcomes, although the majority also called for more research.

CONCLUSIONS

Most systematic reviews suggest that climate change is associated with worse human health. This study provides a comprehensive higher order summary of research on health impacts of climate change. Study limitations include possible missed relevant reviews, no meta-meta-analyses, and no assessment of overlap. Future research could explore the potential explanations between these associations to propose adaptation and mitigation strategies and could include broader sociopsychological health impacts of climate change.

Brain diseases in changing climate

Climate change is one of the biggest and most urgent challenges for the 21st century. Rising average temperatures and ocean levels, altered precipitation patterns and increased occurrence of extreme weather events affect not only the global landscape and ecosystem, but also human health. Multiple environmental factors influence the onset and severity of human diseases and changing climate may have a great impact on these factors. Climate shifts disrupt the quantity and quality of water, increase environmental pollution, change the distribution of pathogens and severely impacts food production - all of which are important regarding public health. This paper focuses on brain health and provides an overview of climate change impacts on risk factors specific to brain diseases and disorders. We also discuss emerging hazards in brain health due to mitigation and adaptation strategies in response to climate changes.