Climate change is one of the most important aspects to understand the problems facing public health. 44% of the infectious agents involved in emerging diseases are the result of increased temperatures. This was announced by Santiago Vega, professor at the CEU Cardenal Herrera Oria veterinary faculty, in his online intervention at the II Seminar of the biopharmaceutical company MSD and the One Health Platform in Spain, under the motto: “One world, one health “.
“There are already regions on the planet where the population has gone from being exposed for four or five months to vectors that transmit diseases such as Zika, dengue or Nile fever, to being exposed 12 months of the year,” says the veterinarian.. Furthermore, rising temperatures are causing biological cycles to shorten.. “We are going to have a greater density of vectors, and these are going to reach places where they were not before,” he adds.
One of the resources that has been most affected by the climate crisis is water.. At this moment there are 600 million people in the world who live displaced from their climatological comfort niches.. “Why? Because where they lived they can no longer continue living and therefore they have to emigrate with all their circumstances, which leads to health problems,” explains Santiago Vega.
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In reference to this, Pablo Barrenechea, director of Climate Action at ECODES and environmental consultant, commented that they seek to accelerate action against climate change in the health system, helping to reduce its carbon footprint and reduce its impact on the climate, making the relationship visible. between climate change and people's health.
“We are doing quite badly, we are not reaching the objectives,” he comments regarding the Paris Agreement signed by 198 countries in 2015.. It was determined that at the end of the century the increase in the planet's temperature would not exceed two degrees Celsius.. “It's okay to talk and promise, we have to act, we already committed ourselves in 2015, within the framework of the Paris agreement, we are at the moment of implementation.” he stated.. One of the ways in which the environmental consultant has insisted is to copy the pioneers who are already doing things, such as the United Kingdom.. “We are far away, but the path is marked.”
It's okay to talk and promise, we have to act, we already committed ourselves in 2015, within the framework of the agreement in Paris, we are at the moment of implementation
The objective of reducing greenhouse gases through changes in some medications such as inhalers has also been stated.. In Spain, 15 million units are sold annually, which translates into the emission of approximately 400,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year, according to the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS).. “We need a collaborative approach, science already has a substitute. Research teams and the pharmaceutical industry. “Professionals need to start changing it.”. To which he adds: “to act against the climate crisis we need everyone's collaboration.”
Regarding this collaboration, the One Health seminar also promoted how essential it is for society to participate.. “This is not an issue solely for doctors or politicians, health is a public good and as a public good it is up to all of us to preserve it,” says Santiago Vega..
“I would replace the word collaboration, by implication,” highlights Raquel Sánchez Sanz, member of the advisory committee of the Spanish Patients Forum.. Who has expressed the need to bring this problem to the public in a simple way, and understandable to everyone, from a constructive point of view.
This is not an issue only for doctors or politicians, health is a public good and as a public good it is up to all of us to preserve it.
“The direct emissions generated by a certain number of industrial companies account for 55% of the global emissions of our country and the rest is the responsibility of all Spaniards,” explains Barrenechea for EL MUNDO.. He also points out that one of the challenges is to bring the problem closer to the citizen, so that they understand it and understand the importance of their actions, even small gestures.
HUMAN, ANIMAL AND ENVIRONMENT INTERCONNECTION
One Health is a health concept that proposes a joint and global approach between three interrelated areas: human health, animal health and the environment.
With the global increase in the human population, more and more people live in close contact with wild and domestic animals, which favors the transmission of diseases between animals and people (zoonoses).. According to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), 60% of the pathogens that cause human diseases originate from domestic or wild animals.. Likewise, 75% of known emerging infectious human diseases resistant to antibiotics have this origin.
“Patients are still largely unaware of the One Health concept. We need a lot of training and information,” added Raquel Sánchez.
RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS
Human resistance to antibiotics has also been addressed among the speakers. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered one of the greatest health threats facing humanity in the 21st century.. In 2019, 1.27 million people died in the world from infections of this type, and if urgent measures are not taken, forecasts for the year 2050 predict a cost of 10 million in human lives.. In Europe more than 30,000 deaths with a cost of 1.5 billion euros.
Jaime Pérez, president of the Spanish Association of Vaccinology, highlights that the main reason why resistance to antibiotics occurs is due to the patient's self-medication.. “The antibiotic cures, and it is a luxury for when it is needed, but not at any time, because it stops working.”
“We do not use antibiotics well. It is a silent pandemic, and it is necessary that we fight against it and go from silent to noisy,” comments Bruno González-Zorn, professor at the Complutense University of Madrid and director of the Antimicrobial Resistance Unit.. Who also emphasizes that “an antibiotic is not an aspirin. Do not self-medicate, always follow the instructions of professionals. Only by working together can we solve this problem.”
The antibiotic cures, and it is a luxury for when it is needed, but not at any time, because it is no longer worth it.
“The fight against antibiotic resistance continues to be a failed subject and we want honors,” says Rafael Cantón, clinical coordinator of the European Committee of Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST).. “We need to continue working with the One Health perspective,” he concludes.