Hottest Summer, Vibrio Infections, and Fighting Pollution Saves ER Visits
We now know that this has been, as expected, the hottest summer on record.
Eighteen of the 30 hottest months have been in the last ten years, and all 30 have been in the last 25 years. There have also been “unprecedented” elevated sea surface temperatures and extreme weather. This is important because warmer oceans result in stronger hurricanes and are destructive to many delicate ocean organisms and ecosystems.
There are steps that can be taken to combat urban heat islands and make cities a bit more livable in the hot summers. Los Angeles has been making efforts, including inastalling “cool pavements.”
From the LA Times article by Charlotte Kramon on September 8, 2023:
“In a public-private partnership involving StreetsLA, Climate Resolve and Pacoima Beautiful, GAF Roofing laid out more than 700,000 square feet of cool pavement in 10 neighborhood blocks, the parking lot and basketball court at Hubert H. Humphrey Memorial Park and the parking lots and playground at Hillery T. Broadous Elementary School.
“By reflecting the infrared spectrum of sunlight, the pavement reduces ambient air temperature up to 6 feet from the ground by 1.5 degrees on normal sunny days, and up to 3.5 degrees on days that are extremely hot, according to GAF Roofing, which makes the coating. The cooling benefits extend downwind of the coated areas as well.”
As the article acknowledges, this is not in itself a solution to extreme heat in cities. There needs to be cool shelters, trees and other shade on the streets, more parks (I suggest fewer golf courses that use vast amounts of water in arid areas and during droughts), painting roofs and roads a reflective white, methods to identify and protect those at risk of problems with the heat, and ultimately and critically, we must curb fossil fuels because this will only get worse.
Critical information for clinicians:
Hot sea waters in the summer of 2023 have also led to new concerns about infections caused by Vibrio vulnificus in warmer coastal waters, especially in the United States on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. V. vulnificus lives in salt or brackish water. The range of this organism has been expanding its range northward at a rate of 48 km (29 miles)/year, as the waters warm up and have been found as far north as Connecticut and New York. Infections increased 18-fold from 1988-2018. V. vulnificus primarily causes wound infections that can cause necrosis (the tissues die and break down). It is far from the most common Vibrio infection, with only about 200 infections reported per year, but besides horrible skin infections there can be systemic problems and about one in five infected people die from the infection. Infections are more dangerous in people with liver disease, diabetes, and poor immune system function and may be fatal.
The CDC has suggested therapies for clinicians to use and also gives recommendations for the public.
A piece of good news for clinicians and all of us about fighting pollution; there is hope: closing down a coal processing plant that caused air pollution outside Pittsburgh rapidly led to less ER visits for heart disease. This effect was also sustained over time. This is good for our health and the health care system, which is good for all of us!
We can make a difference.