Contribution of Earth Observation to Public Health Practices
Nicholas Ogden
(Public Health Risk Sciences Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, PHAC)
Dr. Nick Ogden is a UK-trained veterinarian (University of Liverpool, 1983). After 10 years of mixed clinical practice, he then completed a doctorate in Lyme disease ecology at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford in 1996. During the six years he spent as a lecturer at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, he continued his research into the ecology and epidemiology of tick-borne diseases of public health importance in Europe and those of importance to livestock production in Africa. In 2002 he moved to Canada, where he continued research on the ecology of Lyme disease and other zoonoses and climate change as a research scientist at the Public Health Agency of Canada. As interim Director of the Environmental Issues Division of the Public Health Agency of Canada he directed a program on climate change and vector and water-borne disease risks, and community adaptation to these risks. As Director of the Zoonoses Division he directed programs on national coordination, surveillance and prevention of zoonoses including Lyme disease and West Nile virus. He is now a senior research scientist and Director of Public Health Risk Sciences division within the National Microbiology Laboratory of the Public Health Agency of Canada focusing on the ecology, epidemiology and genetic diversity of vectors and zoonotic and vector-borne micro-organisms, assessing impacts of climate change and developing tools for public health adaptation in the field of zoonoses.
Abstract
Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are major threats to health globally, and are a ‘One Health’ issue driven by the combination of natural and anthropogenic factors that affect the interface of animal and human... [ view full abstract ]
Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are major threats to health globally, and are a ‘One Health’ issue driven by the combination of natural and anthropogenic factors that affect the interface of animal and human diseases and environmental drivers, including climate and biodiversity changes. Public health has dual roles of assessing risks of emergence or re-emergence of known disease-causing organisms to develop public health policies, and to be prepared to respond to outbreaks of known and previously unknown infectious diseases. Public health has local responsibilities to protect the public within their own jurisdictions, and responsibilities to be part of global responses to, and surveillance of, emerging infectious diseases. Public health activities regarding emerging infectious diseases are, therefore, One Earth as well as One Health issues. Assessing the risk from emerging infectious diseases involves identifying and modelling environmental risk factors and drivers for disease occurrence and emergence, as well as determinants of human population health and vulnerability. Now and in the future, public health will strengthen its ability to detect, monitor, predict and respond to existing and emerging infectious disease threats through the continued implementation of state-of-the-art technologies, including Earth Observation (EO) data from satellites, which is a relatively new technology in the context of day-to-day public health activities. The capacity of EO to feed public health with key environmental data to support risk assessments and surveillance of emerging infectious diseases represents a promising avenue within the One Earth-One Health concept. The most common applications of EO data in public health are assessments of how, where and when diseases transmitted by arthropod vectors (e.g. malaria, dengue, Zika, Lyme), by contaminated water and food (enteric diseases such as enterotoxigenic E. coli, cholera), and directly from animals to humans (e.g. ebola and Hantavirus), may occur now and in the future. EO data also have a role in identifying atmospheric pollution and other factors impacting non-infectious diseases. Integration of recent developments in EO data availability, quality and resolution in the domains of land cover and use, climate data and population distribution, are continually increasing the potential for predictive modelling of disease risk.
This presentation will inform on drivers for disease emergence and spread, and key public health needs in EO information related to risk assessment and response. Examples of the contribution of EO to public health practices for vector and water-borne diseases, air quality and chronic conditions, vulnerability of populations to infectious diseases, and responses major outbreaks will be illustrated.
Session
KN-6 » Keynote - Conférencier (17:00 - Wednesday, 21st June, Amphitheatre)
