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Climate change leads to pollution of indigenous people's water supplies (from the Arctic to Uganda)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/ssah-ccl_1021412.php[font face=Times,Times New Roman,Serif]Public release date: 17-Feb-2012
Contact: Michael Adams
michael.adams@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
613-219-7523
Social Science and Humanities Research Centre
[font size=5]Climate change leads to pollution of indigenous people's water supplies[/font]
[font size=4]Increased bacterial loads in potable water could have significant health effects on indigenous people from the Arctic to Uganda, says Vanier scholar[/font]
[font size=3]VANCOUVER -- Indigenous people around the world are among the most vulnerable to climate change and are increasingly susceptible to the pathogen loads found in potable water after heavy rainfall or rapid snow melt.
These are the preliminary findings of Sherilee Harper, a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar in Aboriginal People's Health at the University of Guelph, who says that there has been a significant increase in the incidence of diarrhea and vomiting following these weather events.
Harper is undertaking a comparative study of how extreme weather events affect waterborne diseases in the Arctic and in southwestern Uganda—and is finding plenty of similarities between health issues faced by indigenous groups in Uganda and those in Inuit Nunangat.
"There are a lot of similarities," she says. "One of the most significant is caused by changes to the climate; in both places, increased temperatures and rainfall are leading to increased bacterial loads in water. This can be because of heavy rainfall or rapid snowmelt, but, in each case, it leads to an increased risk of exposure to waterborne disease from both tap water and brook water."
…[/font][/font]
Contact: Michael Adams
michael.adams@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
613-219-7523
Social Science and Humanities Research Centre
[font size=5]Climate change leads to pollution of indigenous people's water supplies[/font]
[font size=4]Increased bacterial loads in potable water could have significant health effects on indigenous people from the Arctic to Uganda, says Vanier scholar[/font]
[font size=3]VANCOUVER -- Indigenous people around the world are among the most vulnerable to climate change and are increasingly susceptible to the pathogen loads found in potable water after heavy rainfall or rapid snow melt.
These are the preliminary findings of Sherilee Harper, a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar in Aboriginal People's Health at the University of Guelph, who says that there has been a significant increase in the incidence of diarrhea and vomiting following these weather events.
Harper is undertaking a comparative study of how extreme weather events affect waterborne diseases in the Arctic and in southwestern Uganda—and is finding plenty of similarities between health issues faced by indigenous groups in Uganda and those in Inuit Nunangat.
"There are a lot of similarities," she says. "One of the most significant is caused by changes to the climate; in both places, increased temperatures and rainfall are leading to increased bacterial loads in water. This can be because of heavy rainfall or rapid snowmelt, but, in each case, it leads to an increased risk of exposure to waterborne disease from both tap water and brook water."
…[/font][/font]