Predicting the Next Epidemic Outbreak

As a student with a strong interest in both environmental science and biology, I find the correlations between the environment and human health to be very interesting, and I believe that combining these two fields of science is critical to advancing research in diseases and illnesses. From the apparent link between air pollution and asthma to the unexpected link between air pollution and childhood obesity, there are discernible pieces of evidence pointing to the fact that environment conditions do impact our health, and that such correlations are real and growing stronger every day. It is therefore up to us, as a global community, to study these relationships, because they can provide key insights into the next epidemic outbreak. With an understanding of the environment, we can discover preventive measures to combat and even cure diseases that plague every corner of the Earth.

In 2010, the 7^th Framework Program of the European Commission jump-started the Earth Observation and Environmental Modeling for the Mitigation Health Risks project, better known by its acronym Eo2Heaven, to delve into the relationships between environmental conditions and health. The team focused on three cases: the link between industrial pollution and respiratory diseases in South Africa; the link between pollution, such as ozone, and allergies and cardiovascular diseases in Germany; and the link between environmental factors, such as rainfall and temperature, and cholera in Uganda. Depending on the case involved, environmental data on rainfall, pH, nutrient concentration in water, and temperatures were collected using sensors mounted on aircrafts and satellites, and public health data were gathered from hospital records and doctors. Both sets of information for each case were then stored and plotted by special graphing software. The “risk maps” that resulted provided researchers with a visual representation of their data and allowed them to spot patterns in the spread of the specific illness that otherwise would have been very difficult to find. Using such geospatial mapping techniques, researchers and medical professionals will be able to predict when and where the next outbreak of an illness or disease is going to be, and these early warnings will enable them to be more proficient in their responses. By working to contain the outbreak and vaccinating people in advance, more communities will be protected.

The influential effect the environment has on our health is fascinating, but very scary. The pollutants that we release into the atmosphere do affect our health, as Eo2Heaven observed in Germany and as I described in my previous post about China, and if we do not cutback on the amount of pollutants and greenhouse gases that we emit into the atmosphere, we can only expect to see an increase in the number of illnesses. Thankfully, these new risk maps show great potential in predicting epidemic outbreaks and in allowing for the development of preventive measures in advance. But, they alone cannot prevent the outbreak from occurring or provide solutions as to how to stop the outbreak at its origin. Let this be yet another wakeup call that our actions on the environment eventually affect our health, and if we want our children and future generations to be safe and healthy, we should reduce our carbon footprint and make the world a greener place. We cannot put off change any longer; now is the time to act.

The correlations between the environment and illnesses are ones that I am very passionate about, and I hope that by combining the studies of environmental science and biology in college, I will help contribute to the next big scientific breakthrough in human health. Many of my friends and family members have battled with cancer throughout the years, so if I could become an oncologist and dedicate my career to studying how the environment interacts with our bodies and the influential roles it plays in both cancer development and growth, I would be most satisfied with my life.

What are your thoughts on the powerful effects that the environment has on our health?

Picture Credit: Hospital Sign. Elliot Brown (via Flickr and available for use under the CC License)

Sources:

“About the Project” European Commission jump-started the Earth Observation and Environmental Modelling for the Mitigation Health Risks

“Early Warning System for Epidemics” Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB February 21, 2014

Eo2heaven Consortium. Frome, United Kingdom: Butler, Tanner & Dennis, 2013. Earth Observation and Environmental Modelling for the Mitigation Health Risks. 2013. Web.

1 Comment

March 27, 2014 | 05:05 PM

Posted By: Brecia Hansen

Great article! I think that the correlation between environmental conditions and human health are well-documented and certainly undeniable. To take this all a bit further, I am very interested in the link between the importance of biodiversity and the implications that has on our potential pharmacopeia. We are losing species at an alarming rate. The majority of our drugs for human diseases are derived from (or synthetic mimics of) compounds found in nature. If we are losing species before we have the opportunity to study them, we are losing cures for many things that ail us. This is of the utmost importance. Thanks!