Д-р МАДЛЕН ВАСИЛЕВА: Първи Международен научен симпозиум за здраве и климатични промени, Рим, Италия
FIRST SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM HEALTH AND CLIMATE CHANGE.
Rome, December 3-5, 2018
Istituto Superiore di Sanità
ABSTRACT
Climate changes affect social and environmental health determinants such as clean air, ecosystems health, safe drinking water and sufficient food. Globally, people at greatest risk of adverse health effects associated with climate change include the children, the elderly and vulnerable groups. Socio-economically disadvantaged groups and areas where infrastructure and/or social services are not efficient will fail in adaptation to climate change and related health hazards. Temperature-related death and illness, extreme events, polluted or stressed ecosystems represent relevant issues raising concern for both health and economic consequences. The aim of the Symposium is to promote an intersectoral and multidisciplinary approach to estimate, and to prevent, climate change-related events as well as to prepare the authorities to put in place measures to reduce adverse health effects.
Due to the complex and wide-ranging impacts of climate change on health, the themes included in the symposium are cross-cutting and include, inter alia:
- environment and health,
- communicable and non-communicable diseases,
- food security,
- zoonoses,
- green economy,
- Migration,
- mental health,
- ecosystems and health,
- drinking water,
- healthier cities,
- air quality,
- blue-green space,
- innovative tools.
The effects and consequences of climate change events on human health are dramatic, WHO states that:
1) diseases transmitted by vectors will increase under conditions of increasing humidity and heat,
2) food production will be destabilized by land,
3) Air pollution leads to increased allergies and asthma,
4) warmer water and floods will increase the risk of waterborne diseases.
According to the WHO, climate change is expected to cause an additional 250,000 deaths globally per year between 2030 and 2050. Climate change is endangering our health whether we live in a village, a small island, coastal areas or a large city; everyone is at risk. In this context, it is important to recognize and highlight the signals our planet sends us, and in particular our ecosystems, which are closely related to the welfare and health status of the population. Signals of change or deterioration of ecosystems should be seen as concerns by policy-makers to implement prevention, mitigation and adaptation measures to protect human health.
The WHO believes that a new perspective is needed that focuses on ecosystems and the recognition that the long-term good health of mankind is based above all on the ongoing stability and functioning of systems that support the life of the biosphere.
At the end of the symposium, the Rome Charter on Health and Climate Change was drafted, presenting a series of actions and recommendations discussed and shared by all stakeholders, policymakers and all stakeholders in climate change management.
The impact of climate change on health is significant, with up to 250,000 additional deaths per year. In addition, spending by $ 2 billion to $ 4 billion on healthcare with large impacts on the broader economy is projected by 2030. Unless concerted action is taken, more than 100 million people are expected to be brought to extreme poverty by 2030, with the impact on climate-related health playing an important role. Looking to the future, the world has to feed 9 billion people by 2030, cut emissions and provide electricity at 1.1 billion, at the same time coming out of the use of fossil fuels. It is necessary to prepare for 2 billion new urban residents, while reducing the carbon footprint of cities and improving the resilience of cities.
There is no doubt that climate change is the determining challenge for future generations.
The expected impact of climate change:
- Reducing the availability of water,
- Increasing droughts,
- Serious losses of biodiversity,
- Increase forest fires,
- Reduced summer tourism,
- Strengthening the effects of heatwaves on health,
- Expanding the habit of disease vectors,
- Reduction of water power plants,
- Reduction of agricultural land / land;
Expected impact of climate change in cities:
- Hot waves - in the EU, the increase in temperatures is the main reason for the intensification of the hot waves observed last summer. In cities, built-up areas contribute to the intensification of the hottest waves and their more frequent occurrence - in Europe, in August 2013 - 70,000 victims in 12 countries.
These phenomena are expected to become more common in the future.
PREFACE
Walter Ricciardi
On 3-5th December 2018, the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), located in Rome, will host the First International Scientific Symposium on Health and Climate Change. Climate change is becoming an increasingly urgent issue and the application of measures and actions to prevent and mitigate the impact on environment and human health are needed at all levels; for this reason the symposium will bring together several national and international actors (E.g. Universities, Scientific Institutions, Hospitals, Local Authorities, stakeholders), involved in different fields, with the aim to define a series of actions that can contribute to prevent, mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.
The impacts and consequences of Climate change related events on human health are dramatic, WHO states that
1) vector-borne diseases will increase with more humidity and heat,
2) food production will be destabilized by drought,
3) air pollution will lead to more allergies and asthma,
4) warmer waters and flooding will increase the risk of water-borne diseases.
WHO estimates that climate changes are expected to cause an additional 250.000 deaths worldwide per year between 2030 and 2050. Climate changes threatens our health whether you live in a rural village, on a small island, in coastal areas or a big city; everyone is at risk. In this context it is important to recognize and highlight the signals that our planet is sending us, in particular our ecosystems that are closely connected with the wellbeing and health status of populations. The signals of ecosystem alteration or deterioration must be considered as an alarm by the policy makers to apply prevention, mitigation and adaptation measures to protect human health. WHO states indeed that a new perspective is required which focuses on ecosystems and on the recognition that long-term good health in human populations relies, above all, on the continued stability and functioning of the biosphere’s life-supporting systems. Due to the complex and far reaching impacts of climate change on health the topics included in the Symposium are intersectoral and include, inter alia, environment and health, communicable and non communicable diseases, food security, zoonoses, green economy, migration, mental health, ecosystems and Health, drinking waters, healthier cities, air quality, blue-green Space, innovative tools.
At the end of the Symposium the Rome Charter on Health and Climate Change will be presented in which a series of actions and recommendations, discussed and shared by all the participants, will be delivered to the policy makers and all the stakeholders involved in the management of climate changes. The International Scientific Committee involved in the organization is made up of experts recognized worldwide for their scientific and policy contribution in relation to the protection of human health and the environment. I am sure this event will add to the precious work already being carried out in this field and contribute to promote a series of actions that are strongly needed to face the effects of climate changes.
THE IMPACT OF POLLUTION ON PLANETARY HEALTH: EMERGENCE OF AN UNDERAPPRECIATED RISK FACTOR
Philip J. Landrigan Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, Boston College, Boston, USA
Pollution is a massive, overlooked cause of disease, death and environmental degradation. To address the neglected problem of pollution, we formed the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health. The goals were to raise awareness of pollution’s great magnitude, end neglect of Pollution-Related Disease (PRD), and mobilize the resources and political will needed to control pollution and prevent PRD. Pollution was responsible in 2015 for 9 million premature deaths - three times as many deaths as caused by AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. 92% of PRD occurs in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), and in the hardest hit countries, PRD is responsible for more than 1 death in 4. Household air and water pollution, the traditional forms of pollution, are decreasing, and deaths from pneumonia and diarrhea are down. But ambient air, chemical and soil pollution are all on the rise, and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) caused by these forms of pollution are increasing. Pollution and climate change are closely linked; both arise from the same sources, and both can be controlled by similar solutions. PRD causes great economic losses. These include productivity losses that reduce gross domestic product in LMICs by up to 2% per year as well as health care costs that account for 1.7% of health care spending in high-income countries and up to 7% in LMICs. Welfare losses due to pollution are estimated to amount to $4.6 trillion per year, 6.2% of global economic output. Pollution and PRD are not the unavoidable consequences of economic development. The notion that LMICs must pass through a phase of pollution and disease as they grow is obsolete data and not well substantiated. Proven, cost-effective pollution control strategies are available today to countries at every income level. These solutions are based on law, policy and technology, and the most effective eliminate pollution at source. Pollution control and PRD prevention will require that affected countries, international agencies, major foundations, research institutions, and civil society make pollution prevention a high priority; to set firm targets for PRD reduction; to establish data systems for monitoring pollution and PRD; and to end the externalization of pollution by enforcing the ‘polluter pays’ principle. The donor community can provide much needed technical and financial support. Advocacy for the issue is also critical. Pollution control is a winnable battle.
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON ZOONOTIC DISEASES
Kris A. Murray Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Grantham Institute Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London, London, UK
Climate change has had documented influences on all levels of biological organization, from genes to species to entire ecosystems. Given that most human infectious diseases have origins in or require animals including vectors for their transmission, it should not be surprising that these changes also have a number of important implications for zoonotic disease emergence, spread, prevalence or burden. Weather and climate typically help define the behavior, phenology, distributions and abundances of wildlife species that may harbor potential human pathogens. Altering weather and climate regimes are thus altering the distribution or abundance of these hosts or their traits relevant to pathogen transmission. Similarly, weather and climate influence the behavior, activity patterns and distribution of people, livestock and companion animals, and in turn patterns of human-animal contact. In addition to the primary impacts of climate change on disease dynamics, such alterations may further compound other drivers of human or animal ecology (e.g., land-use change, human travel and trade), which could facilitate invasion and contribute to the reshaping of entire ecological communities, again with ramifications for zoonotic disease transmission. Even biodiversity loss, already severe but predicted to become much worse under climate change, could paradoxically increase the risk of zoonotic diseases. Such complexity makes forecasting the impacts of climate change on zoonotic diseases particularly challenging, while both increases and decreases in risk should be expected. Novel tools and approaches that can help anticipate such impacts are urgently required to support public and global health management in an age of radical social and environmental change.
Communicable Disease and Climate Change
CLIMATE AND OTHER DRIVERS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE THREAT EVENTS IN EUROPE
Jan C. Semenza European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockolm, Sweden
The emergence and spread of infectious diseases in the interconnected world of today is not only a function of biomedical factors but also of many complex societal and environmental factors. In order to disentangle the contributing factros of infectious disease emergence we analyzed the underlying drivers of Infectious Disease Threat Evens (IDTE) in Europe that were detected through epidemic intelligence, collected at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). These drivers were sorted into three main groups: globalization and environmental drivers contributed to 61% of all IDTE, public health systemdrivers contributed to 21%, and social and demographic drivers to 18%. A higher resolution analysis revealed that four of the top five drivers of IDTE were in the globalization and environment group: travel and tourism, natural environment, global trade, and climate. While climate is not the strongest driver of IDTE it is nevertheless an important contributor to IDTE. In fact, climate, and by extension climate change, has already impacted the transmission of a wide-range of vector-borne diseases in Europe, and it will continue to do so in the coming decades. Climate change has been implicated in the observed shift of ticks to elevated altitudes and latitudes, notably including the Ixodes ricinus tick species which is a vector for Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis. Climate change is also thought to have been a factor in the expansion of other important disease vectors in Europe: Aedes albopictus (the Asian tiger mosquito), which transmits diseases such as Zika, dengue, and chikungunya, and Phlebotomus sandfly species, which transmits diseases including Leishmaniasis. In addition, highly elevated temperatures in the summer of 2010 have been associated with an epidemic of West Nile Fever in Southeast Europe and subsequent outbreaks have been linked to summer temperature anomalies. Future climate-sensitive health impacts are challenging to project quantitatively, in part due to the intricate interplay between non-climatic and climatic drivers, weather-sensitive pathogens, and climate change adaptation. Moreover, globalisation and international air travel contribute to pathogen and vector dispersion internationally. Nevertheless, monitoring forecasts of meteorological conditions can help detect epidemic precursors of vector-borne disease outbreaks and serve as early warning systems for risk reduction.
Oral session 17 Food security-Food Safety and Climate Change
CLIMATE CHANGE AND EMERGING RISKS FOR FOOD SAFETY
Angelo Maggiore, Raquel G. Matas, Ana Afonso, Giacomo de Sanctis, Didier Verloo, Ciro Gardi, Sofie Dhollander, Yves Van der Stede, Marco Binaglia, Jose Tarazona, Federica Barrucci European Food Safety Authority, Parma, Italy
According to the EFSA’s Founding Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 (Article 34), EFSA is required to establish procedures for the screening and analysis of information with a view of identifying emerging risks in the fields within its mission. The aim is to anticipate or even prevent future food safety challenges and risk assessment needs (data, knowledge, methodologies) thus contributing to preparedness. The achievement of this aim in the longterm may be based on the identification of drivers. They are natural or anthropogenic factors causing complex and interlinked changes that could put the European food system under severe stress. Because of them, food safety cannot be taken as granted in the future. Climate change is one of the most relevant drivers of emerging risks. While a broad range of forward-looking studies focus on the impact of climate change on food security, future challenges for food safety and nutritional quality are usually not particularly studied. The CLEFSA project (Climate Change and Emerging Risks for Food Safety) aims at developing, testing and piloting new methodologies for emerging risks identification and to produce a prioritised list of emerging issues/risks potentially affected by climate change. In particular, it explores the possibility of a) using the specific driver, climate change, for long term anticipation of emerging risks, b) using horizon scanning and crowdsourcing to collect a broad range of signals, c) enlarging the knowledge network to experts for the specific driver from international EU and UN agencies, d) designing Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis tools for prioritisation purposes. A transparent and reproducible 5-step procedure has been designed. It consists of the following steps: definition of the identification criteria, identification of emerging issues, definition of the prioritisation criteria, design of the ranking system, ranking of the identified issues. A survey has been launched to collect a broad range of issues, including weak signals, potentially affected by climate change. The scope of the survey has covered all EFSA’s areas. More than 600 people responded, providing over 240 issues. A CLEFSA discussion group has been created constituted by experts from international EU and UN institutions and coordinators of large EU projects involved with climate change. The task of this group is to design the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis tool for prioritization purposes and to rank the identified issues. A report will be produced and published at the end of the project (2020).
Other scientific opinions and up-to-date information on animal health, welfare, antimicrobial resistance, as well as risk assessment throughout the food chain can be found on the website of the Center for Risk Assessment of the Food Chain:
More details:
First Scientific Symposium Health and Climate Change, Rome, December 3-5, 2018
Istituto Superiore di Sanità https://healthclimate2018.iss.it/
20.12.2018 г.
Dr. Madlen Vassileva
Chief expert
Risk Assessment Center on Food Chain