climate change impacts on human health - new airborne...

Dr Hans-Guido Mücke 115th IUAPPA, 12–16 September 2010 in Vancouver

Climate Change Impacts on Human Health - New Airborne Risks

ClimateClimate Change Impacts on Human Health Change Impacts on Human Health -- New New AirborneAirborne RisksRisks

HansHans--Guido MGuido Müückecke

Umweltbundesamt (UBA)Federal Environment Agency, Berlin/Germany



Background on Climate change and health• Increasing number of natural disasters and people affected in

Europe within the last 30 years

• Health impacts of extreme weather events in Germany, e.g. heavyrains with floods in East-Ger 1997/2002/06, heat wave in SW-Ger 2003, country-wide storms 2002/07/08

• WHO process on CC and health in Europe since 2000; health chapter of 4th IPCC status report 2007

• at EU level since 2008: white paper „Adapting to CC“, incl. resilienceof health and social policies

• since Dec. 2008: German CC adaption strategy „DAS“, human health is one main topic



Health outcomes

Indirect exposures

(induced changes in other sectors and systems)

Direct exposures

(heat, flood…)

Climate Climate Climate ChangeChangeChange

Pathways

Socio-economic impacts

(homelessness, refugees…)

Adapted from IPCC 2007Adapted from IPCC 2007Adapted from IPCC 2007



Human health aspects of the „DAS“• Infectious diseases from food-, water-, rodent- and vector-borne

sources, particularely non-native airborne vectors, e.g. mosquito-borne viruses (such as West Nile and dengue virus, chikungunyafever, malaria)

• Non-infectious diseases, such as COPD, asthma and allergies, e.g. from a changing natural environment

• two examples of new CC-related health risks in the air due to thermophile species:

ragweed pollen and stinging hairs (setae)of processionary caterpillars



Health effects of ragweed(Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.)

• late summer allergic symptioms: e.g. hay fever, rhino conjunctivitis, asthma

• pulmonary obstructive reactions

• prolongation of the air-borne burden of diseases

Ref.: Starfinger, JKI 2010



Occurance and distribution of ragweed• 1 mio pollen per plant• „No 1 allergy plant“ in N-America• relatively new burden in Europe, about 10 to 12%

population are suffort in I, F and HU• in Germany: rough knowledge about occurance

and spreading in cities and country-side• identification by chance• no systematical and harmonized monitoring• growing number of existance• ambrosia abatement programme at the local

and state level, here and there




Health effects of Thaumetopea processionea L.

• toxic irritative allergic symptoms:such as eye irritations, conjunctivitisitchy skin, eczema, caterpillar dermatitis

• pulmonary obstructive reactions

• asthma

• anaphylactic shock

Ref.: Spiegel 2004

Quercus robur

Q. cerris

T. processionea

Geographical distribution of the two main host plants, Quercus robur and Q. cerris, and the oak processionary moth, Thaumetopoea processionea

Ref.: Spiegel 2008



Ref.: Spiegel 2004Ref.: zweihundertzwölf 2008 wikipedia



Summary: non-infectious diseases

• facing new phenomenon of climate change related health risks in theair from thermophile species (allergic disorders from bioaerosols, e.g. pollen and stinging hairs)

• pollen seasons currently starts on average 10 days earlier than 50 years ago

• prolongation of pollen burden diseases due to late summer bloomingplants, e.g. ragweed/ambrosia

• since 2004 identification of new public health problems (allergies) fromstinging hairs in forests and leisure areas

• little knowledge of human health pathomechanisms=> National research on patho impacts of new pollen is projected(Federal Research Plan 2010/11), concerning stinging hairs planned for2011/12



EDEN-Project (Emerging Diseases in a changing European eNvironment)

2004 - 2010 Integrated Project of the 6th Framework program funded by the ECContractors: 48 scientific institutions from 24 countries, 11.500.000,-€

Activities in Europe: European CommissionClimate change and vector- and rodent borne Diseases

Project aim: identification of environmental conditions which influence spatial and

temporal distribution and dynamics of human pathogenic vector- and rodent-borne

diseases. (Airborne Risks: Moquitoes, Sandflies, Hanta-Virus)

Biodiversity monitoring, environmental change detection, disease modelling, data

exchange, information and communication.Ref.: Schmolz and Klasen, FEA 2010



Project: Climate Change and Distribution of Hanta-transmitting Rodents

Funding: Environmental Research Plan 2009 (UFOPLAN 2009)Contractors: Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Federal Research

Institute for Animal Health, 2009 - 2012, 185.000,-€

Project aim: Prediction of changes in distribution and population cycles of

voles as Hantavirus-transmitters.

Vole monitoring, description of vole distribution and population cycles,

correlates to climate, monitoring of Hanta-Viruses in voles

Activities in Germany: Federal Environment AgencyClimate change and vector- and rodent borne Diseases

Bank vole, Myodes glareolus Picture: FEA

Dried and aerosolized rodenturine with hantavirus particlesleading to infectious pulmonaryand kidney diseases in humans

Ref.: Schmolz and Klasen, FEA 2010



Activities in Germany: Federal Environment Agency

Planned project: Climate Change and Distribution of Vectors (Mosquitoes)

Funding: Environmental Research Plan 2011 (UFOPLAN 2011)Contractor: to be assigned, 2011 - 2013

Climate change and vector- and rodent borne Diseases

Project aim: Prediction of changes in distribution of health-relevant

mosquitoes. Monitoring of mosquito species, their distribution and

abundance, correlates to climate, monitoring of pathogens in mosquitoes

Anopheles stephensi Picture: FEA

Adult mosquitoes may transmitdiseases, e.g. malaria, yellowfever, Dengue fever, West-Nilefever




Sandflies and mosquitoes: •Sandflies (Phlebotomes) as vectors for leishmaniasis are spreading northwards in Europe•Introduction of the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) as vector of Chikungunya-virus; recent epidemics in Italy (2007)•Malaria vectors abundant in Europe, but low risk of malaria-reemergenceRodents: •Increased numbers of Hanta cases; epidemic years (e.g. 2007 in Europe)•Climate change induces an increase in frequency of years with nutritional surplus(masting years), followed by rodent population outbreaks and subsequently Hantaepidemics

ItIt isis impossibleimpossible to to generalisegeneralise patternspatterns and and modelsmodels of of mosquitomosquito-- oror rodentrodent--borneborne

diseasedisease outbreaksoutbreaks, , sincesince ecosystemecosystem changeschanges as well as as well as otherother changeschanges (land (land useuse, ,

human human behaviourbehaviour) ) differdiffer substantiallysubstantially in European in European regionsregions: NO SIMPLE ANSWERS!: NO SIMPLE ANSWERS!

Summary of Activities in Europe and GermanyClimate change and vector- and rodent borne Diseases




ThankThank youyou forfor your attention!your [email protected]

www.umweltbundesamt.de

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