Graceful ahb1

27/02/2024

30/01/2024

The US is seeing a spike in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections, and it’s taking a toll on pediatric hospitals. Beds at these medical centers are filling up, and the limited capacity has prompted drastic measures. Last week, Connecticut Children’s hospital contacted the National Guard to help set up tents in its parking lot to serve as temporary units. At Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Ohio, staff are turning away emergency room visits that required hospitalization as they reached bed capacity.

RSV, a seasonal respiratory virus that causes cold-like symptoms, has been around for centuries. Today, it is the leading cause of severe respiratory illness in babies and infants. What makes the current outbreak so alarming is that most hospitalized children are older than 2.

[Related: Flu and RSV hybrid virus studied in a lab for the first time]

“We’re seeing a tidal wave of RSV,” says Sharon Nachman, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. “And we’re not seeing it just in those first two years of life that we typically expect but in school-aged children who should have already had their RSV exposure.” Pediatric experts warn that pandemic disruptions have led to a brutal flu and RSV season.

30/01/2024

The report includes the work and insight from 99 experts from 51 organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and it was led by University College London. United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres responded with “the climate crisis is killing us. It is undermining not just the health of our planet, but the health of people everywhere – through toxic air pollution, diminishing food security, higher risks of infectious disease outbreaks, record extreme heat, drought, floods and more.” Guterres was not involved in writing the report.The report concludes with a call to action that could save lives. “Despite the challenges, there is clear evidence that immediate action could still save the lives of millions, with a rapid shift to clean energy and energy efficiency. Accelerated climate action would deliver cascading benefits, with more resilient health, food, and energy systems,” adds Romanello. “With the world in turmoil, governments and companies have the opportunity to put health at the centre of an aligned response to these concurrent crises, and deliver a healthy, safe future for all.

30/01/2024

Data from the 2022 report suggests that climate change is currently affecting every pillar of food security. Rising temperatures and extreme weather events threaten crop yields, by directly shortening the growth season of crops by 9.3 days for maize (corn), 1.7 days for rice, and 6 days for winter and spring wheat. The extreme heat was also associated with 98 million more people reporting moderate to severe food insecurity in 103 countries in 2020 than annually between 1981 and 2010.

It also finds that on average, 29 percent more land was affected by extreme drought annually between 2012–2021, compared to what was measured between 1951–1960. These droughts put people at a greater risk of both water and food insecurity.

Climate change is also affecting the spread of infectious diseases. The report finds that the length of time suitable for malaria transmission rose by 32.1 percent in highland areas of the Americas, and 14.9 percent in Africa in 2012-2021, when compared to 1951-1960. The influence of the climate on the risk of dengue transmission rose by 12 percent during the same period. Combined with the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of infectious disease due to climate change has led to misdiagnosis, pressure on health systems, and difficulties in managing simultaneous disease outbreaks.