Zoonoses

• Published in: Alternatives journal (Waterloo) 2005, Vol.31 (3), p.24-28
• Main Authors: Charron, Dominique, Waltner-Toews, David, Butt, Kelly, Maarouf, Abdel R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal to human disease transmission; Climate change; Control; Infections; Zoonoses
• ISSN: 1205-7398

Direct links between climate and disease are relatively easy to identify. Heat stress in humans, animals and plants is caused by extreme heat. Tornadoes and hurricanes cause death and injury. More difficult to discern, however, are the complex indirect effects of climate variability and change on diseases. These include effects on the organisms that cause disease, on the organisms that transmit diseases (called vectors), the animals that "store" disease (called disease reservoirs) and their habitat, and on the disease victim. These multiple effects can be challenging to identify and predict (see"Climate Change", p. 27) THE TERM "climate" refers to the normal meteorological conditions for a given place, usually averaged over as many as 30 years of daily observational records. These "normals" include not only the average conditions but also the frequency of extreme events such as blizzards, heat waves, tornadoes, etc. On the other hand, "weather" refers to the short-term, typically day-to-day meteorological conditions in a place. Current concerns over global climate change refer to the recent and sustained departure from previously normal climate conditions in most places in the world, due in large part to the accumulation of greenhouse gases (by-products of fossil-fuel burning) in the atmosphere. Climate change projections include milder winters, warmer summers (with more smog days), more frequent extremes of weather and changes in precipitation patterns, such as heavier rainfall separated by longer dry spells. 1 This article is a condensation of a report prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and focuses on relationships between projected climate changes and the epidemiology ofzoonoses specifically in Ontario. Climate change effects have been documented in other parts of the country, but these may differ from effects in Ontario because of differing climate and environmental conditions. D.R [Dominique Charron], et al., "A Synopsis of Known and Potential Diseases and Parasites of Animals and Humans Associated with Climate Change in Ontario" in A Synopsis of Known and Potential Diseases and Parasites of Animals and Humans Associated with Climate Change, S. Greifenhagen and T. Noland, eds. (Sault Ste Marie: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Forestry Research Institute, 2003), Forest Research Information Paper #154.