Environmental health Flashcards
How many DALYS are attributed to the environment?
Approx 600 million DALYs attributed to the environment
A lot of diseases are related to the environment (like diarrhoeal diseases) because it comes from drinking unsanitised drinking water
What is the MDG targets for safe drinking water?
What is the SDG target for safe drinking water?
Halve by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
Requires progress on WASH
By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
In 2015, what was the percentage of the global population had safe drinking water?
Approx 71% of the population used safely managed drinking water service, one located on the premises and that is free of contamination
What are the health impacts of unsafe drinking water?
Contaminated water can transmit diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, dysentry, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio
Contaminated water causes approx 500 000 diarrhoeal deaths per year
In 2017, over 220 million people required preventative treatment for schistosomaisis (an acute and chronic disease caused by parasitic worms contracted through exposure to infested water)
CASE STUDY: What are the health effects of arsenic exposure?
Death
Cancer
Diabetes
Hypertention
Vascular effects
Developmental defects
Describe the distribution of arsenic exposure
Widespread distribution
Tens of millions of people are exposed to groundwater arsenic
Causes approx 15 000 premature deaths per year
Causes mortality, morbidity and reduced economic productivity
Give an example of a country that is affected by Arsenic poisoning.`
Bangladesh
In 2012, there were approx 40 million people exposed to groundwater arsenic
In an area, approx 20% of deaths were related to arsenic poisoning
1990-2000s: The level of arsenic poisoning has decreased by 40%
It is not widely known the differences between arsenic related cancers and non arsenic related cancers.
What did the 2030 new agenda for sustainable development say?
Provide access to clean drinking water that is free of all contaminants including arsenic
What are the WHO prevention strategies for arsenic poisoning?
provision of a safe water supply for drinking, food preparation and irrigation of food crops.
Low-arsenic water can be used for drinking, cooking and irrigation purposes, whereas high-arsenic water can be used for other purposes such as bathing and washing clothes.
Discriminate between high-arsenic and low-arsenic sources. For example, colouring high-arsening taps with a different colour to low-arseninc taps
Education and community engagement for successful interventions
Intake of arsenic by crops
Removing arsenic from household supplies
Warning signs for communities close to groundwater arsenic
What is the WHO response to Arsening poisoning?
Released guidelines for drinking-water quality
recommended limit is 10 microlitres per litre of water
Guideline is provisional because it is difficult in removing arsenic from drinking water
Every effort should be made to keep the concentrations as low as possible
The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene monitors progress towards global targets on drinking water. Under the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the indicator of “safely managed drinking water services” calls for tracking the population accessing drinking water which is free of faecal contamination and priority chemical contaminants, including arsenic.
What are the direct affects of climate change?
Heat waves
Extreme weather (related health effects)
temperature (temperature related illness and death)
precipitation
What are the indirect effects of climate change?
- Contamination pathways
- Air pollution related illness
- Transmission of disease dynamics
- Water and food borne illness
- Different vector borne disease
- Changes in ecosystem
- effects of water and food shortage
- Sociodemographic and population disruption
- Mental and infectious and non-infectious disease
How many deaths were attributed to heat in 2003 Europe?
70 000 excess deaths
Heat related mortality for people over the age of 65 increased, reaching approx 300 000 deaths in 2019 (80.6% greater than 2000-2005 average)
Most deaths were attributed to those working in agriculture
What are the health effects of extreme weather?
Global surface area that is affected by drought has increased since 1990
Farmers have committed suicide in India, due to debt and lack of food production.
Suicide
Violence (GBV) (heat waves have been associated with mental and behavioural disorders)
Prevalence of violence related disorders are greater in the summer.
