Environmental change and disease
A wide range of events shape the behavior and social interactions of humans and diseases. We know that the spread of childhood communicable diseases mirrors school calendars and we also know that holidays spur travel and novel social "mixing patterns," which increases the spatial distribution of disease transmission.
We know that plane travel effects transmission of certain diseases and seasonal shifts in immunity and host susceptibility are exacerbated by increased exposure through crowds during the colder months.
There are also seasonal trends in infectious diseases that have been well studied. For instance, the peak transmission of the malaria parasites tracks rainy seasons and the survival of certain pathogens, such as the diarrheal disease cholera is enhanced by warmer temperatures. Rapid fall cooling promotes the seasonal viral transmission of tick-borne encephalitis and there are many more.
Therefore, "Agent" and "host" are united by the "environment" and any of the three can have an impact on the others.
Increased industrialization, booming population growth, widespread deforestation, certain farming methods and increased use of antimicrobials have led to emerging and changing behaviors of diseases and their transmission. No one would argue this point.
Climate change may have some effect on diseases but it is far too early to speculate that global warming is a major catastrophic event related to disease transmission and those who continually state this as fact are doing a dis-service.
In fact, 2007 actually showed a cooling but this piece of information has been left out of most mainstream media reports as well as others touting the catastrophic effects of global warming.
The earth is constantly changing and adapting just as we do and just as bacteria and viruses adapt to their surroundings.
Making broad speculative statements about the effects is in many regards irresponsible. We need to be cognizant about the effects but being reactionary may be far worse in its long term implications.
All life is affected by climate change as well as many other variables and their unremitting influences on an increasingly interconnected globe needs to always be appreciated.
Nature has a way of balancing changes in our environment and there is no reason to believe that this will not continue. Twenty years or so ago, the media was citing the next ice age was coming and now they are touting global warning.
We need to be cognizant of our impact and strive to be better stewards of our world, but fanatical rhetoric should be challenged in all disciplines.
We know that plane travel effects transmission of certain diseases and seasonal shifts in immunity and host susceptibility are exacerbated by increased exposure through crowds during the colder months.
There are also seasonal trends in infectious diseases that have been well studied. For instance, the peak transmission of the malaria parasites tracks rainy seasons and the survival of certain pathogens, such as the diarrheal disease cholera is enhanced by warmer temperatures. Rapid fall cooling promotes the seasonal viral transmission of tick-borne encephalitis and there are many more.
Therefore, "Agent" and "host" are united by the "environment" and any of the three can have an impact on the others.
Increased industrialization, booming population growth, widespread deforestation, certain farming methods and increased use of antimicrobials have led to emerging and changing behaviors of diseases and their transmission. No one would argue this point.
Climate change may have some effect on diseases but it is far too early to speculate that global warming is a major catastrophic event related to disease transmission and those who continually state this as fact are doing a dis-service.
In fact, 2007 actually showed a cooling but this piece of information has been left out of most mainstream media reports as well as others touting the catastrophic effects of global warming.
The earth is constantly changing and adapting just as we do and just as bacteria and viruses adapt to their surroundings.
Making broad speculative statements about the effects is in many regards irresponsible. We need to be cognizant about the effects but being reactionary may be far worse in its long term implications.
All life is affected by climate change as well as many other variables and their unremitting influences on an increasingly interconnected globe needs to always be appreciated.
Nature has a way of balancing changes in our environment and there is no reason to believe that this will not continue. Twenty years or so ago, the media was citing the next ice age was coming and now they are touting global warning.
We need to be cognizant of our impact and strive to be better stewards of our world, but fanatical rhetoric should be challenged in all disciplines.
Labels: environment, global warming
posted by Anonymous at 5:55 AM
6 Comments:
"The earth is constantly changing and adapting just as we do and just as bacteria and viruses adapt to their surroundings."
Spoken like a true evolutionist! Welcome to the club...finally.
And, regarding:
"Nature has a way of balancing changes in our environment and there is no reason to believe that this will not continue."
While that may be true, there are usually winners and losers as "balancing" occurs. Dinosaurs, for example, got balanced out of existence when some thing(s) in their environment changed. Eventually, we might become the dinosaurs of some future balancing act.
Most people living in Kentuckiana think it's a great place to live. Every day I wonder, breathing our air filled with fine particulate matter.
Isn't God wonderful how he created such self balancing system of repair and renewal.
If we would only allow God to work!!
You have to love God's rebalancing system. Those earthquakes, volcanos, hurricanes, tornados, floods, droughts, crop eating insects and epidemics are wonders to behold and great gifts to Man from the Almighty.
Yes bad things happen and many times to good people.
It is all part of the fallen world and our fallen nature.
Evil exists in this world; no argument here.
Sound like bible babble. Blame everything on Adam and Eve. Were they just the flawed "beta" version of humans? Hardly seems fair to wreck havoc on babies living on the coast of Thailand for some minor apple incident thousands of years ago.
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