Read on Twitter
We're entering a "pandemic era." We must act aggressively on climate to prevent future pandemics from occurring more frequently.
How do they connect? Immunologist Dr. @ChristineRJames and I wrote an op-ed about the threat of not acting now. (thread) http://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/534562-covid-19-is-a-precursor-for-infectious-disease-outbreaks-on-a-warming
How do they connect? Immunologist Dr. @ChristineRJames and I wrote an op-ed about the threat of not acting now. (thread) http://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/534562-covid-19-is-a-precursor-for-infectious-disease-outbreaks-on-a-warming
2020 showed the true extent of nature’s rage is just beginning.
From wildfires that destroyed millions of acres across Australia & California to a record-setting hurricane season, climate change collided with COVID-19 to mark one of the most difficult years in modern history.
From wildfires that destroyed millions of acres across Australia & California to a record-setting hurricane season, climate change collided with COVID-19 to mark one of the most difficult years in modern history.
The past couple decades were rife with emerging infections disease (EID) outbreaks. Dr. Fauci says this will become the norm not the exception.
75% of EIDs are zoonotic (transmitted btwn animals/humans). This is where climate change will dramatically accelerate pandemics.
75% of EIDs are zoonotic (transmitted btwn animals/humans). This is where climate change will dramatically accelerate pandemics.
Animals are changing habitats as food/water supplies are threatened by altered climate patterns & processes like urbanization/deforestation. This increases interaction and transmission risk.
For ex: There are 3,200 coronaviruses in bats that could jump to humans at any time.
For ex: There are 3,200 coronaviruses in bats that could jump to humans at any time.
Urbanization and deforestation have left only 15% of the world’s forests intact.
With this habitat decrease, bats & rodents, which are responsible for 60% of the diseases transmissible to humans, have flourished over declining large mammal populations.
With this habitat decrease, bats & rodents, which are responsible for 60% of the diseases transmissible to humans, have flourished over declining large mammal populations.
High levels of “land use change” for farming/livestock breeding, or road building & mining, led to outbreaks like the Nipah virus in Malaysia. A 25% loss in forest cover is associated with disease spillover from animals like fruit bats, a common reservoir of zoonotic diseases.
Altered weather from climate change accelerates the spread of vector-borne diseases.
Mosquitoes/ticks account for 1/3 of transmission. With warming temps & precipitation changes, these insects are being found in unexpected places. By 2050, they'll reach 500 million more people.
Mosquitoes/ticks account for 1/3 of transmission. With warming temps & precipitation changes, these insects are being found in unexpected places. By 2050, they'll reach 500 million more people.
The West Nile virus outbreak in New York and, more recently, the growing number of Lyme disease cases in previously unseen regions, are just a glimpse of what we may face in the future. And they can be directly tied to climate change. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2582486/
As we battle the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to address underlying environmental drivers is more urgent than ever.
President Biden must be willing to fund research programs like the Pandemic Influenza and other Emerging Threats (PREDICT), whose funding was abruptly cut by Trump.
President Biden must be willing to fund research programs like the Pandemic Influenza and other Emerging Threats (PREDICT), whose funding was abruptly cut by Trump.
The US must join in collective climate action.
One study shows the cost of preventing pandemics via removing deforestation subsidies, supporting the rights of indigenous peoples & monitoring wildlife trade would be just 2% of current COVID costs. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/news/preventingfuturepandemics/
One study shows the cost of preventing pandemics via removing deforestation subsidies, supporting the rights of indigenous peoples & monitoring wildlife trade would be just 2% of current COVID costs. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/news/preventingfuturepandemics/
One lesson we can take away from 2020: our actions have driven nature to its brink.
Unless we recognize the relationship between climate & health, and the absolute necessity for real environmental policy, we will continue to suffer the consequences of our own inaction. (end)
Unless we recognize the relationship between climate & health, and the absolute necessity for real environmental policy, we will continue to suffer the consequences of our own inaction. (end)
