Vibrios: Integrating coastal, climate and public health observations for predicting risks

Climate-driven changes in our coastal environment may pose a range of risks to public health. For example, Vibrio cholera and Vibrio parahaemolyticus are waterborne and foodborne bacteria that cause severe diarrheal illness, usually through consumption of contaminated seafood. Changes in ocean climate and increases in extreme coastal weather events may increase the risk of outbreaks of these diseases. This presentation will take a case-study approach to illustrate the use of integrated climate, public health, and coastal disease monitoring and surveillance data to develop prediction tools and early warning systems for Vibrio cholera and Vibrio parahaemolyticus-related health risks. These tools have been incorporated into the MEDS (Monitoring, Early Warning, Data and Surveillance) project of the U.S. Global Change Research Program's Interagency Group on Climate Change and Health. This work describes some of the gaps that need to be filled in order to develop global early warning systems for cholera and other climate-mediated waterborne diseases, and provides a model for the use of integrated data for development of other climate change adaptation strategies.