The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #47235

Jonathan A Patz, MD, MPH, Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, 410-955-4195, jpatz@jhsph.edu

Land cover change can have adverse impacts upon human health. These changes affect the hosts or vectors of disease and the pathogens and parasites that breed, develop, and transmit disease. Landscape impacts such as deforestation, human settlement sprawl, industrial development, road construction (e.g., linear disturbances), large water control projects (e.g., dams, canals, irrigation systems, reservoirs), and climate change have been accompanied by the spread of pathogens into new areas. The environmental impact of landscape changes on health is just now gaining attention in the public health and conservation worlds. Yet, in the midst of the growing evidence that the integrity of human health, wildlife health, and landscapes are inextricably linked, there is no compendium of scientific work in this arena. The body of information concerning this has yet to be brought together from disparate areas of professional and scientific knowledge. This session will bring together public health experts who are studying these links between land use change, biodiversity, habitat loss, and human and wildlife disease emergence. The session will include the following presentations and speakers: "Deforestation and Malaria in the Amazon," Jonathan Patz, Johns Hopkins University "Gold Mining, Mercury Exposure and Malaria," Ellen Silbergeld, Johns Hopkins University "Globalization and Invasive Pathogens," Peter Daszak, Consortium for Conservation Medicine "Biodiversity effects on Lyme Disease Risk in the US," Richard Ostfeld, Institute of Ecosystem Studies "Integrated Assessment of Malaria Transmission in Zimbabwe Under Climate Change Scenarios," Kris Ebi, WHO/EPRI

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, participants will have

• Learned the major drivers of land use change and the types of diseases affected by such change;
• Been exposed to various methods of investigation of the links between ecology and public health;
• Identified land use changes or methods that may be relevant to their own area of public health interest.

Keywords: Emerging Diseases, Environment

Related Web page: www.jhsph.edu/globalchange

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.