Healthy Ecosystems Are a Prerequisite for Human Health—A Call for Action in the Era of Climate Change with a Focus on Russia

• Published in: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Main Authors: Dmitry Orlov, Marija Menshakova, Tomas Thierfelder, Yulia Zaika, Sepp Böhme, Birgitta Evengard, Natalia Pshenichnaya
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2020
• Subjects: zoonotic diseases; climate change; Arctic; Russia; health care system; Climate change; Human health; permafrost
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228453

Throughout history, humans have experienced epidemics. The balance of living in nature encircled by microorganisms is delicate. More than 70% of today’s emerging infections are zoonotic, i.e., those in which microorganisms transmitted from animals infect humans. Species are on the move at speeds never previously recorded, among ongoing climate change which is especially rapid at high latitudes. This calls for intensified international surveillance of Northern infectious diseases. Russia holds the largest area of thawing permafrost among Northern nations, a process which threatens to rapidly disrupt the balance of nature. In this paper, we provide details regarding Russian health infrastructure in order to take the first steps toward a collaborative international survey of Northern infections and international harmonization of the procured data.