New Web tool used to help prevent infectious disease threat

Southern and southeastern US states may experience a rise in infectious disease cases as a result of this summer’s climbing temperatures, according to an analysis by the National Resources Defense Council.

During a recent press conference, Kim Knowlton, senior scientist for the Health and Environment Program, National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Jeremy Hess, MD, MPH, FACEP, assistant professor and assistant research director in emergency medicine at Emory Schools of Medicine and Public Health, and colleagues of the CDC’s Climate and Health Program discussed how rising temperatures can result in dengue fever and other mosquito-borne diseases.

“The NRDC is launching a new Web tool called Climate Change Threatens Health,” Knowlton said. “The Web page details the ways that climate change effects health in where we live. Five US maps that allow people to explore how the environment is already changing state by state in ways that threaten health and how climate change stands to make today’s health threats worse.”

According to the NRDC maps, 47% of states, mainly in the South and Southeast region of the United States, are vulnerable to the spread of dengue fever. The maps also show other environmental health factors, such as drought, flooding, air pollution and plant allergens, which can cause infectious diseases in vulnerable areas.

“Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever result from ecological changes that result from warming and changes in precipitation and other land use changes,” Hess said. “All those together can increase the risk of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases in various regions as outlined on these maps. We also see significant indirect health impacts on respiratory disease, particularly asthma and [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], also known as emphysema, all of which are exacerbated by air pollution, particularly ozone and air allergens such as pollen.”

Along with the maps, the NRDC is posting adaptation plans created by different states. Each plan shows how Southern and Southeastern states are adapting to climate change and preventing infectious diseases from occurring.

“It’s making plans to prepare for the changes that climate change is bringing, and figuring out ways to help people thrive in the face of those changing conditions,” Knowlton said. “There are 13 states across the US that already have model plans that people can look at and use those as templates to do similar work, either in their own state or even where they live in town, city or village.”

Disclosure: Dr. Hess and Ms. Knowlton report no relevant financial disclosures.

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