Climate Change Influences Increase In Disease (Page 20)

Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah (Mirror, Thursday, March 20, 2008)

CLIMATE change has the potential of increasing some infectious diseases, particularly those that occur in warm areas and are spread by mosquitoes and other insects.
These diseases include malaria, which is the number one killer disease in sub-Saharan Africa, dengue fever, yellow fever and encephalitis (swollen brain), a document prepared by the Chief Executive Officer of the Development Geo-information Services, Dr Emmanuel Amamoo-Otchere, has noted.
In addition, a particular segment of the human population to be affected more by changes in the climate are those with heart problems, asthmatic patients, the elderly, the very young and the homeless who are vulnerable to extreme weather conditions.
The document, prepared in connection with this year’s World Health Day celebration, noted, “Ground level ozone can damage lung tissues and is especially harmful for those with asthma and other chronic lung diseases.”
The theme for this year’s World Health Day celebration, which falls on April 7, is, “Protecting Health From Climate Change”. It was selected by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in view of the growing threats that climate change presents to international security.
The objective of the theme is to raise awareness of the dangers posed by climate variability and change and to sensitise stakeholders to the health implications of climate change.
Dr Amamoo-Otchere explained that increase in vector-borne diseases such as malaria was the result of climatic conditions, population movement, forest clearance and land-use patterns, fresh water surface configuration, human population density and the population density of dangerous insects.
“Higher temperature, in combination with favourable rainfall patterns, could prolong disease transmission seasons in some locations where certain diseases already exist,” he stressed.
He added that other diseases such as cholera that were caused by alga in polluted water could also become frequent in times of floods.
Dr Amamoo-Otchere, however, pointed out that in some instances, climate change could rather decrease disease transmission because of a reduction in rainfall or temperature that was too high for the transmission of particular vectors, adding that temperature and humidity levels must be sufficient for certain disease-carrying vectors to thrive and mentioned tick which carried a disease called lyme.
In all these, the Ghanaian scientist said of great concern was a pollutant called “particulate matter” or “particle pollution” which was a complex mixture of extreme small particles and liquid droplets which, when breathed in, could reach the deepest regions of the lungs to create health problems.
“Exposure to particle pollution is linked to significant health problems,” he stressed.
He said pollution was also the main cause of visibility impairment in cities and national parks, adding that climate change might indirectly affect the concentration of particulate matter pollution in the air by affecting natural or “biogenic” sources of particulate matter such as wild fires and dust from dry soil.
Dr Amamoo-Otchere stated that a change in the climate impacted on agricultural yields and production, with the most negative effects expected in developing countries.
“If temperature increases beyond optimum thresholds in the tropics, for example, the number of undernourished people in the developing world could increase,” he observed.
To reduce the risks associated with climate change, Dr Amamoo-Otchere called for improved sanitation and risk management of possible epidemics in order to survive the health problems.
He said, for example, that it would be beneficial if Ghanaians changed their style of building, constructed good drainage network, avoided building in flood-prone areas, reduced dry weather dustiness, reduced slum development, among other measures.
He pointed out that although climate change created many problems for mankind, it had some opportunities and pointed out that it was through such changes that nations got oil in the soil.