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Climate Change and Human Health Literature Portal Direct and indirect effects of climate change on the risk of infection by water-transmitted pathogens

Climate Change and Human Health Literature Portal

Sterk A, Schijven J, de Nijs T, Husman AMD
2013
Environmental Science & Technology. 47 (22): 12648-12660

Climate change is likely to affect the infectious disease burden from exposure to pathogens in water used for drinking and recreation. Effective intervention measures require quantification of impacts of climate change on the distribution of pathogens in the environment and their potential effects on human health. Objectives of this systematic review were to summarize current knowledge available to estimate how climate change may directly and indirectly affect infection risks due to Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, norovirus, and Vibrio. Secondary objectives were to prioritize natural processes and interactions that are susceptible to climate change and to identify knowledge gaps. Search strategies were determined based on a conceptual model and scenarios with the main emphasis on The Netherlands. The literature search resulted in a large quantity of publications on climate variables affecting pathogen input and behavior in aquatic environments. However, not all processes and pathogens are evenly covered by the literature, and in many cases, the direction of change is still unclear. To make useful predictions of climate change, it is necessary to combine both negative and positive effects. This review provides an overview of the most important effects of climate change on human health and shows the importance of QMRA to quantify the net effects.

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    Extreme Weather-Related Event or Disaster, Precipitation, Sea Level Rise, Solar Radiation, Temperature, Water Quality
    • Extreme Weather-Related Event or Disaster, Precipitation, Sea Level Rise, Solar Radiation, Temperature, Water Quality: Drought, Flood, Landslide
    • Extreme Weather-Related Event or Disaster, Precipitation, Sea Level Rise, Solar Radiation, Temperature, Water Quality: Variability
    • Extreme Weather-Related Event or Disaster, Precipitation, Sea Level Rise, Solar Radiation, Temperature, Water Quality: Marine/Freshwater Chemical, Marine/Freshwater Pathogen, Other Water Quality, Specify
      • Marine/Freshwater Chemical, Marine/Freshwater Pathogen, Other Water Quality, Specify: Nutrients; Turbidity; Water temperature; Salinity; pH
      Water quality issue (other)
    Freshwater, Ocean/Coastal
    Non-United States
    • Non-United States: Europe
    Infectious Disease
    • Infectious Disease: Waterborne Disease
      • Waterborne Disease: General Waterborne Disease
      Waterborne Disease
    Exposure Change Prediction
    Long-Term (>10 years)
    Review Article
    Other Climate Change Scenario, Specify
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