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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

J.A. Patz, MD, MPH, Nelson Institute & Dept. Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin, 1710 University Ave., Madison, WI 53726, 608-262-4775, patz@wisc.edu

Many health outcomes and diseases are sensitive to climate, including: heat-related mortality or morbidity; air pollution-related illnesses; infectious diseases, particularly those indirected transmitted via water (waterborne) and by insect or rodent vectors (vectorborne); and refugee health type issues linked to forced population migration. The World Health Organization estimates that already, over 150,000 deaths are attributed to the warming we've already realized, but these impacts vary regionally. Population most vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change include:

• Areas or populations within or bordering regions with high endemicity of climate-sensitive diseases (e.g. malaria in the African highlands) • Areas with an observed association between epidemic disease related to weather extremes (e.g., El Niño linked epidemics) • Areas at risk from several climate impacts relevant to health (e.g., stress on food and water supplies, risk of coastal flooding) • Areas at risk from concurrent environmental or socioeconomic stresses and with little capacity to adapt (e.g., local stresses from land use practices or impoverished or undeveloped health infrastructure).

When mapping these areas and regions of the world with the highest existing climate-sensitive disease (e.g, malaria, malnutrition, and diarrhea), ironically these are in poor countries – those least contributing to greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming; herein lies a major global ethical challenge.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand to varied health impacts of climate change and exacerbating determinants of population vulnerability
• To learn the ethical challlenges presented when comparing those countries causing global warming from those most at risk of the impacts

Keywords: Ethics, Environmental Health

Related Web page: www.sage.wisc.edu

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation