Global Change & Diseases Flashcards
Climate change and infectious diseases & Landscape structure, disturbance, and disease dynamis
Challenges to understanding linkages between climate change and infectious diseases
- Absence of an appropriate comparison group
- Long time period over which human actions affect climate
- Large number of health outcomes potentially affected by climatic change
- Non-climatic influences on infectious disease dynamics can also interact with climate
Which climate factors are changing?
- Seasonality
- Temperature
- Precipitation
- Hydrology
How would seasonality change with climate?
More irregular timing and are more intense
Many infectiouys diseases follow patterns in prevalence driven by ____ changes
Seasonal
Potential reasons flu transmission increases in winter
- Low humidity
- Indoor air circulation (cam bring pathogens around)
- Reduced immunity and/or exposed mucous membranes
- Increase contact indoors
Recent flu season has been ____ intense than before and the cases peak ____ than before.
Less; Earlier
How the R0 of a seasonal disease change according to current climate status?
The R0 will have a higher transmission peak and can be impactful during a longer time frame.
Climate change generally expected to increase temperatures, why does it correlate with an increase in R0 of infectious diseases?
Most infectious agents and arthropod vectors reproduce more rapidly at higher temperatures
Why is the human population density higher in areas of greater altitude in Ethiopia?
The risk of malaria decreases with increasing altitude.
*1 degree celsius temp increase the shift line 150m up
Climate change is expected to let precipitation be ____ frequent and ____ extreme
less; more
Extreme precipitation can lead to public health crisis, such as…
Outbreaks of Cholera due to
- rainfall
- water source contamination
- poor sanitaiton
- lack of portable water
Pools of water may support the reproduction of ____, and can thus increase ____ risk.
mosquitos (and other arthropods); disease
Hydrology
Movement and distribution of water across a landscape
In Chicago, areas where water is more likely to pool is related to ____ risk of ____.
Increased; West Nile Virus
What is the primary functions of green infrastructure in a city?
- Retain rainwater (sustainable drainage)
- Greenery
- Mitigate heat island effect
- Carbon storage
Consequences of climate change for public health concerns
Some diseases will increase in incidence and decrease in predictability
Spatial Autocorrelation
The probability of encountering a pathogen or of transmission decreases as the distance from an infected host increases.
- Closer you are from an infeted host, the more likely you will be transmitted
Two major anthropogenic changes to ecosystems that influence disease invasion, persistence and spread
- Habitat destruction
- Biological invasions
Landscape structure (or configuration)
The specific arrangement of spatial elements in a landscape
Connectivity
Spatial continuity of a habitat or cover type
Patch
Surface area that differs from its surroundings in nature or apprearance
Matrix
Background cover type in a landscape
Lanscape change
Natural or human-mediated alterations to landscape structure
What is the relationship between deforestation and malaria in the Amazon?
Deforestation of the Amazon caused enormous biodiversity loss.
Logging activities create many small aquatic habitats with direct sunlight exposure, an ideal breeding habitat for the mosquito to thrive in, resulting in the re-emergence of malaria.
What is the relationship between percent forest cover in the Amazon versus biting rate of the mosquitos? (/6 hr/person)
- In areas with 0% - 20% forest cover, the biting rate reaches up to 6.5
- In areas with 20% to 60% forest cover, the biting rate is a bit less than 2
- In areas with 60% - 98% forest cover, the biting rate is close to 0.
How does the risk of lyme disease correlate with land cover type?
Ticks are most prevalent in sub-urban areas, and the 2nd prevalent in urban areas. Rural areas are rarely affected.
Which factors are related with increased risk of lyme disease?
- an intermediate forest cover that support white-tailed deers
- Invasive, bush honeysuckle that support white-tailed deers
