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【科普】全球气候变化对人类健康构成极大威胁

Climate Change Poses a Huge Threat to Human Health
气候变化对人类健康构成极大威胁
Global environmental change and health: impacts, inequalities, and the health sector. BMJ Volume 336, pp 191- 4
Newswise — Climate change will have a huge impact on human health and bold environmental policy decisions are needed now to protect the world’s population, according to the author of an article published in the BMJ today.
Newswise——今天发表在BMJ杂志上一文作者呼吁,气候变化将会对人类的健康产生重大影响,目前急需采取大胆的环境政策以挽救生灵。
The threat to human health is of a more fundamental kind than is the threat to the world’s economic system, says Professor McMichael, a Professor of public health from the Australian National University. “Climate change is beginning to damage our natural life-support system,” he says.
McMichae是澳大利亚国立大学的公共卫生专业的教授,他认为对人类健康的威胁远远要大于对世界经济体系的威胁。“气候变化已经开始破坏我们自然的生命承载系统,”他说。
The risks to health are many, and include the impact of heat waves, floods and wildfires, changes in infectious disease patterns, the effect of worsening food yields and loss of livelihoods.
对健康的危害是多方面的,包括热浪、洪灾和大自然火灾的影响,感染疾病谱的改变,农产量下降和生计缩减带来的影响。
The World Health Organisation estimates that a quarter of the world’s disease burden is due to the contamination of air, water, soil and food – particularly from respiratory infections and diarrhoeal disease.
世界卫生组织估计全球1/4的病灾是由于空气、水、土和食物污染造成的——特别是呼吸道感染和肠道疾病。
Climate change, says Professor McMichael, will make these and other diseases worse. While it is unlikely to cause entirely new diseases it will alter the incidence, range and seasonality of many existing health disorders. So, for example, by 2080 between 20 and 70 million more people could be living in malarial regions due to climate change.
McMichael教授说,气候变化会让这些疾病和还有其他一些疾病的情况更加糟糕。虽然不会有新的病种出现,但是会改变许多现有疾病的发病率、病程和季节特性。比如,到2080年将有2到7千万的人会因为气候变化而生活在疟疾高发区。
The adverse health impacts will be much greater in low-income countries and vulnerable sub-populations than in richer nations.
恶劣的健康影响在低收入国家和一些易受气候变化影响的人口亚群中比在发达一些的国家更加严重。
Professor McMichael says:
“Poverty cannot be eliminated while environmental degradation exacerbates malnutrition, disease and injury. Food supplies need continuing soil fertility, climatic stability, freshwater supplies and ecological support (such as pollination). Infectious diseases cannot be stabilised in circumstances of climatic instability, refugee flows and impoverishment.”
McMichael教受说:“气候恶化加剧了营养不良、疾病和创伤的出现,在这种情况下贫穷是无法消除的。食物的产生需要不断地对土地施肥、气候的稳定、源源活水和生态支持(如授粉)。在气候不稳、难民如流和贫困交加的情况下感染性疾病是无法控制的。”

The relationship between the environment and health is complex. For example, as India modernises it expects the health of its population to improve, yet industrialisation also means a rapidly increased level of coal-burning and greater global emissions. This in turn leads to climate change, the impact of which is felt most by vulnerable populations.
环境和健康之间的关系非常复杂。比如,当印度在现代化时希望人口的健康状况能有所改善,可是工业化也意味着更多的煤炭燃烧,更多的炭排放。这就导致了气候变化,而由此而来的影响却带给了那些处于薄弱带的人群了。
Professor McMichael concludes that the global changes we are seeing now are unprecedented in their scale, and healthcare systems should develop strategies to deal with the resulting growing burden of disease and injury. More bold and far-sighted policy decisions need to be taken at national and international level to arrest the process and health professionals “have both the opportunity and responsibility to contribute to resolving this momentous issue.”
McMichael教授最后认为,我们目前所见的全球变化之规模是全所未有的,我们的医疗卫生系统必须拿出应对不断增加的伤病压力的举措。应该在全国和国际水平制定更加大胆和超前的决策来阻止这种进程,还有医学专家“有机会也有责任为解决这一重大难题作出贡献。”
Click here to view full paper: http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/january/ac191.pdf

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作者:admin@医学,生命科学    2011-07-10 17:31
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