Several cases of dengue fever found in Florida, Texas

Moral of the story: Global warming won't just cause polar bears to drown.  It might kill you.  Tropical weather = tropical diseases.

Source: AMA Morning Rounds 7/30/2010

Several cases of dengue fever found in Florida, Texas.

ABC World News (7/29, story 8, 2:30, Sawyer) reported, "Tonight, a new government report says global warming is undeniable, and it's happening fast. Scientists at NOAA cite data from around the world, documenting this first decade of the century is the warmest on record. And it's long been feared that with heat will come tropical diseases," such as Dengue Fever. ABC (Besser) added, "There is no treatment for Dengue Fever," which "causes headache, eye pain, rash. It's often called 'break bone fever' because of the crushing pain it can cause. It's spread by mosquitoes and the nearly two dozen cases in Key West, Florida, are the first cases there in more than 70 years." Several cases have also been reported in Texas, Besser said, and there is concern that someone could be infected with both strains, which "can be deadly."

Health and global warming

Moral of the story: There are very real health effects to global warming that are rarely discussed in the news.  These should be an important part of the global warming discussion, as well as of the health discussion.  For example, obesity, public transport and climate change are integrally related and should be discussed as such.  We need better organized cities with better transportation, food and clinical care options.

Source: AMA Morning Rounds 6/3/2010

Health benefits of potential global warming policy rarely discussed.

In the Washington Post (6/2) "Ezra Klein" column, Kate Sheppard pointed out that "among the many positive outcomes of carbon-reduction policy often ignored when looking at the costs are the health benefits." For instance, "programs to reduce emissions, like providing better public transportation and improving urban planning, could...result in indirect healthcare savings, thanks to lower obesity rates and fewer respiratory and heart problems." Meanwhile, "kidney stones could increase by 30 percent or more in some areas of the US because of dehydration -- a problem that alone could cost the US healthcare system more than $1 billion per year." Such arguments, however, "rarely surface in the climate debate." In fact, "a forthcoming study...found that stories connecting health and global warming made up just five percent of the climate coverage in the New York Times and...the Washington Post."

Moral of the story: The WHO and others are looking at how the different strategies will affect the health of the public. Overall, it is likely to improve health (and drive down health care costs).

Source: WHO, http://www.who.int/globalchange/news/2009/greenhouse_25112009/en/index.html

25 November 2009
London and Washington D.C.

Public health impact of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Different mitigation strategies are likely to have different implications for health. For example, how much would a move to low carbon sources of power improve public health by reducing air pollution? What could be the health benefits of encouraging people to cycle and walk rather than take the car? Could improved biomass cook stoves in developing countries have impacts on child and maternal health as well as greenhouse gas emissions?

In the first major study of its kind, an international team of researchers in collaboration with WHO, have been modelling the health effects of different policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in high and low-income countries. Case studies focus on four key sectors: power generation, transport, household energy, and food and agriculture. The study findings will be published in a special issue in the Lancet in November 2009.

The results were launched at events in London and Washington on 25 November 2009.

Related links

- Dr Margaret Chan, editorial - Cutting Carbon, Improving Health [pdf 91kb]

- The Health benefits of tackling climate change
An executive summary for the Lancet series

- The Wellcome Trust

- The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine