Climate change is increasing diseases.

They will be widespread and unpredictable.

By

Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

An outbreak of the Ebola virus has killed 14 people in western Uganda last month. There is no treatment and no vaccine against Ebola, which is transmitted by close personal contact and, depending on the strain, kills up to 90 per cent of those who contract the virus. In recent years, Uganda has been hit with three Ebola outbreaks, the worst of which was in 2000, when more than half of the 425 people infected died.

Cases of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) has gone up to 50 in the Assam State in Eastern India. The areas mostly affected by Japanese Encephalitis are Kamrup, Sivasagar, Dhubri, Morigaon, Darrang and Nalbari. More than 400 people in northern India have died last year from encephalitis, a rare condition that causes inflammation of the brain. Around 347 people have died in Uttar Pradesh, while 54 children have died in the neighbouring state of Bihar. Cases of malaria is increasing every year in the state of Jharkhand, Assam, Orissa, Maharashtra etc.

With over 2,50,000 people testing positive for malaria last year, Orissa topped the chart for reporting the highest number of malaria cases. This was followed by 95,000 cases reported from Chhattisgarh and over 61,000 registered in Madhya Pradesh.

A 1996 report from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine calculated that, of ten of the world’s most dangerous vector-borne diseases (malaria, schistomiasis, dengue fever, lymphatic filariasis, sleeping sickness, guinea worm, leishmaniasis, river blindness, chagas’ disease and yellow fever), all but one were likely to increase, or in some way change their range as a result of climate change.

In recent years, vector-borne diseases (VBD) have emerged as a serious public health problem in countries of the South-East Asia Region, including India. Many of these, particularly dengue fever, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and malaria now occur in epidemic form almost on an annual basis causing considerable morbidity and mortality. Dengue is spreading rapidly to newer areas, with outbreaks occurring more frequently and explosively. Chikungunya has re-emerged in India after a gap of more than three decades affecting many states.

Asia spans tropical and temperate regions. Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax malaria, dengue fever, dengue haemorrhagic fever, and schistosomiasis are endemic in parts of tropical Asia. In the past 100 years, mean surface temperatures have increased by 0.3–0.8 °C across the continent and are projected to rise by 0.4–4.5 °C by 2070.

An increase in temperature, rainfall and humidity in some months in the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan has been associated with an increase in the incidence of  P. falciparum malaria. In north-east Punjab, malaria epidemics increase fivefold in the year following an El Niño event, while in Sri Lanka the risk of malaria epidemics increases fourfold during an El Niño year. In Punjab, epidemics are associated with above-normal precipitation, and in Sri Lanka, with below-normal precipitation.

According to WHO, many countries in Asia experienced unusually high levels of dengue and/or dengue haemorrhagic fever in 1998, the activity being higher than in any other year. Changes in weather patterns, such as El Niño events, may be major contributing factors, since laboratory experiments have demonstrated that the incubation period of dengue 2 virus could be reduced from 12 days at 30 °C to 7 days at 32–35 °C in Aedes aegypti .

Public health officials often use the term tropical diseases to refer collectively to a list of infectious diseases that are found primarily in developing countries. These include malaria, schistosomiasis, dengue, trypanosomiasis, leprosy, cholera, and leishmaniasis, among others. Many of these diseases are spread by insect vectors, and all of them disproportionately affect the world's poor. Malaria is the most severe of these, with the World Health Organization estimating that the disease causes about 250 million episodes of acute illness and perhaps 880,000 deaths annually.

The most widespread and severe climate-sensitive vector-borne disease in South America is malaria. Studies have shown that unusually dry conditions (for example, those caused by weather related to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation phenomenon in the northern part of the continent) are accompanied or followed by increases in the incidence of the disease. This has been documented in Colombia and Venezuela.

In Asia, dengue fever  and malaria  have been associated with positive temperature and rainfall anomalies, while in Australia arboviral disease outbreaks are most frequently associated with flooding. Urban developments in Asia and the surrounding regions may have a substantial impact on trends in the transmission of dengue fever. In some areas, such as Viet Nam, effects of past civil instability and slow economic growth may also be implicated.

Climate change would directly affect disease transmission by shifting the vector's geographic range and increasing reproductive and biting rates and by shortening the pathogen incubation period. Climate-related increases in sea surface temperature and sea level can lead to higher incidence of water-borne infectious and toxin-related illnesses, such as cholera and shellfish poisoning. Human migration and damage to health infrastructures from the projected increase in climate variability could indirectly contribute to disease transmission. Human susceptibility to infections might be further compounded by malnutrition due to climate stress on agriculture and potential alterations in the human immune system caused by increased flux of ultraviolet radiation.

Of the many scientists who have projected, predicted and warned of the likely health effects of climate change, almost all agree on the basics: they will be widespread and unpredictable, they are likely to be severe, and many, many people across the world will die as a result.

New Scientist magazine reported that ‘human disease is emerging as one of the most sensitive, and distressing indicators of climate change. “It is accepted by virtually all climate scientists that the likely increase in and spread of, potentially fatal diseases is likely to be the single most dangerous threat that climate change poses to human health.

Among the ten most dangerous diseases Malaria is the world’s most prevalent mosquito- borne disease. All experts seem to agree that one effect of climate change will be to increase the range of the malarial mosquito. Destruction of forests to create new human settlements can increase local temperatures by 3–4 °C and at the same time create breeding sites for malaria vectors. These phenomena can have serious consequences on malaria transmission in India, African highlands and other parts of the world.

And it is not just vector-borne diseases that are likely to take advantage of the changing climate. Other infectious killers are likely to enjoy a resurgence too, particularly diseases associated with water supply and sanitation. Climate change could have a major impact on water resources and sanitation by reducing water supply. This could in turn reduce the water available for drinking and washing, and lower the efficiency of local sewerage systems, leading to increased concentration of pathogenic organisms in raw water supplies.

More than 100 pathogens can cause illness if you drink or swim in water contaminated by sewage, including norovirus Norwalk and hepatitis A viruses and bacteria such as E. coli and campylobacter.

Several studies have shown that shifts brought about by climate change make ocean and freshwater environments more susceptible to toxic algae blooms and allow harmful microbes and bacteria to proliferate.

Global Warming will also increase rainfall intensity. Rainfalls will be heavier, triggering sewage overflows, contaminating drinking water and endangering beachgoers. Higher lake and ocean temperatures will cause bacteria, parasites and algal blooms to flourish. Warmer weather and heavier rains also will mean more mosquitoes, which can carry the West Nile virus, malaria and dengue fever. Fresh produce and shellfish are more likely to become contaminated.

Heavier rainfalls are one of the most agreed-upon effects of climate change. The frequency of intense rainfalls has increased notably in the Eastern India, China, Philippines, Korea and Japan.

Flooding may follow heavy rainfall. For developing nations there is evidence of outbreaks following floods. Outbreaks of leptospirosis in Rio de Janeiro (Barcellos and Sabroza 2001) and in the Philippines (Easton 1999) have followed floods. Hepatitis E, malaria and diarrhoeal disease have followed floods in Khartoom (Homeida et al. 1988; Novelli et al. 1988 ). Both acute diarrhoea and acute respiratory disease increased in Nicaragua following Hurricane Mitch and the associated flooding (Campanella 1999).

Temperature can affect both the distribution of the vector and the effectiveness of pathogen transmission through the vector. Gubler et al. (2001) list a range of possible mechanisms whereby changes in temperature impact on the risk of transmission of vector-borne disease:

1. Increase or decrease in survival of vector
2. Changes in rate of vector population growth
3. Changes in feeding behaviour
4. Changes in susceptibility of vector to pathogens
5. Changes in incubation period of pathogen
6. Changes in seasonality of pathogen transmission

By 2100 it is estimated that average global temperatures will have risen by 1.0–3.5 °C, increasing the likelihood of many vector-borne diseases in new areas. The greatest effect of climate change on transmission is likely to be observed at the extremes of the range of temperatures at which transmission occurs. For many diseases these lie in the range 14–18 °C at the lower end and about 35–40 °C at the upper end. Malaria and dengue fever are among the most important vector-borne diseases in the tropics and subtropics; Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the USA and Europe. Encephalitis is also becoming a public health concern. Health risks due to climatic changes will differ between countries that have developed health infrastructures and those that do not.

Human settlement patterns in the different regions will influence disease trends. While 70% of the population in South America is urbanized, the proportion in sub-Saharan Africa is less than 45%. Climatic anomalies associated with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation phenomenon and resulting in drought and floods are expected to increase in frequency and intensity. They have been linked to outbreaks of malaria in Africa, Asia and South America. Climate change has far-reaching consequences and touches on all life-support systems. It is therefore a factor that should be placed high among those that affect human health and survival.

Conclusion:

Analyzing the role of climate in the emergence of human infectious diseases will require interdisciplinary cooperation among physicians, climatologists, biologists, and social scientists. Increased disease surveillance, integrated modeling, and use of geographically based data systems will afford more anticipatory measures by the medical community. Understanding the linkages between climatological and ecological change as determinants of disease emergence and redistribution will ultimately help optimize preventive strategies.

References:

Barcellos, C. and Sabroza, P.C. (2001) The place behind the case: leptospirosis risks and associated environmental conditions in a flood-related outbreak in Rio de Janeiro. Cadernos de Saude Publica 17(suppl), 59–67.

Bouma MJ, Dye C, van der Kaay HJ. (1996) Falciparum malaria and climate change in the northwest frontier province of Pakistan. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,  55: 131–137

Bouma MJ et al. (1997) Predicting high-risk years for malaria in Colombia using parameters of El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 2: 1122–1127.       

Campanella, N. (1999) Infectious diseases and natural disasters: the effects of Hurricane Mitch over Villanueva municipal area, Nicaragua. Public Health Reviews 27, 311–319.

Dengue in the WHO Western Pacific Region.(1998) Weekly epidemiological record, 73(36): 273–277.        

Easton, A. (1999) Leptospirosis in Philippine floods. British Medical Journal 319, 212.

Gubler, D.J., Reiter, P., Ebi, K.L., Yap, W., Nasci, R. and Patz, J.A. (2001) Climate variability and change in the United States: potential impacts on vector- and rodent-borne diseases. Environmental Health Perpectives 109(suppl 2), 223–233.

Homeida, M., Ismail, A.A., El Tom, I., Mahmoud, B. and Ali, H.M. (1988) Resistant malaria and the Sudan floods. Lancet 2, 912.

Novelli, V., El Tohami, T.A., Osundwa, V.M. and Ashong, F. (1988) Floods and resistant malaria. Lancet 2, 1367.

Poveda, G et al.(1999) Climate and ENSO variability associated with vector-borne diseases in Colombia. In: Diaz HF, Markgraf V, eds. El Niño and the Southern Oscillation, multiscale variability and regional impact. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 

Watts DM et al. (1987) Effect of temperature on the vector efficiency of Aedes aegypti for dengue 2 virus. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 1987, 36: 143–152.        

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2672.94.s1.5.x/full

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=394508

http://www.searo.who.int/LinkFiles/CDS_vector-borne_diseases_in_India.pdf

http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?pid=S0042-96862000000900009&script=sci_arttext&tlng=e

Platinum metal can glitter Jharkhand State of India.

Presence of platinum cannot be ruled out in Jharkhand State of India.

by

Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

Platinum may be considered one of the precious metals since it is more costly than gold. About 60 percent of that consumed in the United States is for jewelry purposes. It was once used for coinage in Russia until its value exceeded that of the coins. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River. The metal has an excellent resistance to corrosion and high temperatures and has stable electrical properties.

Platinum is only one of a group of related metals consisting of osmium, iridium, palladium, rhodium, and ruthenium. They are not only associated together but also are generally alloyed, and are called, therefore the “platinum metals.” They are very heavy, insoluble in most acids, melt at temperatures of 1,549 degree to 2,700 degree C, and range in hardness from 4.8 to over 7. Iridium is the heaviest metal and osmium the hardest.

Platinum is invariably associated with basic igneous rocks and with the ore minerals characteristic of these rocks. Most of the platinum of the world is intimately associated either with chromite or nickel. Even platinum placers are derived from basic rocks rich in chromite. The platiniferous nickel ores also contain copper and appreciable quantities of gold and silver.

In India, reported values of platinum group of metals worthy of attention are from the pre-cambrian mafic/ultramafic complexes in Sukinda and Nausahi sectors of Orissa and Sitampudi in Tamil Nadu. Geological Survey of India carried out sampling of the chromite ore bodies and their associated rocks. It was observed that the incidence of Platinum group of metals is much less in chromite bodies but it is somewhat more, of 20 to 100 ppb (parts per billion) in the chromite horizons.

Seeing the association of platinum with chromite and its deposits in ultramafic rocks in Jharkhand state of India, presence of platinum cannot be ruled out. Till today no detail research work has been done on the possibilities of platinum in the chromite deposit areas in Jharkhand State. Jojohatu, Hatgamariya, Keshargariya, Roroburu, Chitungburu, Kimsiburu, Kittaburu, Kusmita, Gurgaon, Tonto and Janoa-Ranjrakocha areas must be targeted for platinum deposits.

Chromite deposits of Jharkhand had a pioneering role in the early history of chromite exploitation in India. Small deposits of chromite ore are confined to the southern part of Singhbhum district in Jharkhand. Such deposits are exposed around Jojohatu, Hatgamariya, Keshargariya, Roroburu, Chitungburu, Kimsiburu, Kittaburu. Small occurrences of chromite are also found at Kusmita, Gurgaon, Tonto and Janoa-Ranjrakocha areas. Many of the deposits have been prospected by private parties but abandoned afterwards. The deposits are rather scattered and small and the grade is generally inferior (30-40% Cr2O3).

Jojohatu lies about 25 km to the west of Chaibasa, the district headquarters of Singhbhum. The Jojohatu ultramafic body is spread in three blocks with a cumulative length of 8 km in N-S direction and over a width of 3 km. These blocks are named successively from North to South as Kimsiburu, Kittaburu and Roroburu-Chitungburu. The ultrabasic rocks with which chromite is associated is intrusive into the rocks of Iron Ore Super Group represented in the area.


In one report of B.D. Sharma and others, Chalcopyrite concentrates from the Singhbhum district, India, contained 25-70 ppb Pt, which is greater than amounts found in rocks and chromite. Platinum group of metal are also reported in Kinkel and Kurdeg area of Simdega District.

Reference:
Sharma, B.D. Economic Geology; May 1966; v. 61; no. 3; p. 592-597; DOI: 10.2113/gsecongeo.61.3.592

Sutiambbe hill in Ranchi city of India is a treasure trove of ancient archaeological sites and geological weathering.

Sutiambe hill in Ranchi city is a treasure trove of ancient archaeological sites and geological weathering.
By
Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

Sutiambe hill is an archeological site located near Kanke in Ranchi district of Jharkhand State of India.. Formerly, it was the capital of Nagvanshi Dynasty of Chota Nagpur in the first century AD.
There is a remains of the fort of Nagvanshi Dynasty on the hill.
Different Archaeological sites have been discovered like old structures of the Sun Temple, Shiv Temple, the fort of Nagvanshi Dynasty in Sutiambe area. The caves of the first king of the Munda tribe, Maharaja Madra Munda has also been discovered. There is one cave (as shown in the picture) where the rocks inside resembles Shiva Linga and the local villagers offer prayers to these rocks. There are also other mysterious caves in the hills.
This hill not only cradles ancient archaeological remains but it also covered with spectacular geological weathering on the granite gneiss rocks of the hills. This geological weathering resembles very much with the finger prints of some giant ancient animals or a umbrella like hood structure of a hindu mythological snake(cobra or Nagas). Even the caves formed in the hill is a good example of erosional features.
In the picture a small staircase like structure having pot hole filled with water is also seen on the top of the hill. According to the local people king Madra Munda used to use the water from the pot hole for his daily uses. This hole never dries up even during peak summer season. Source of underground water filling this hole is from the hill itself.

Regarding the origin of the Nagvanshi Dynasty a interesting story is told by the historians. It doesn’t have scientific proof but still this story is mentioned several times in the history books written by eminent historians like S.C. Roy and Mangobinda Banerjee.
Though I am a geologist, my purpose of mentioning this story is that during my survey and photography in the area I encountered many erosional and weathering structures which resembles the hood of the giant snakes. From the local people I came to know about the Nagwanshi rulers who ruled this area in the ancient times. Nagvanshi means those who came from the snake family. ‘Nag’ means “cobra snake” and ‘wanshi’ means ‘family’.
Like the Romulas-Remus origin of the Romans, the Chota Nagpur Raj family has preserved an interesting tradition as to origin from the snake, which not only takes us back to the Pauranic times, but seeks to account for the name, “Nagpur”. The story refers to the time of Raja Janmejaya, who in order to destroy the entire race of serpents, celebrated a sarpa-yajna. One of the serpents, Pundarika Nag by name, managed to make good his escape, and, having assumed a human form, traveled to Benares (now Varanasi) and there succeeded in wining the hand of Parvati, the daughter of the learned Brahman. Notwithstanding his otherwise human appearance Pundarika could not, however, get rid of the serpent’s forked tongue which, not long afterwards, attracted the notice of his wife. Parvati naturally became inquisitive about it, and asked her husband what this meant. Pundarika put off answering the inquiry to some future day. And to divert her mind from the subject, he took her on a pilgrimage to the holy temple of Jagannath at Puri in Orissa State. On their way back, they passed through Jharkhand State, as Chotanagpur was then called. Arriving near the hill of Sutiambe in present Ranchi district, Parvati was found to be in the throes of child-birth. And now once more she importuned her husband to tell her the secret of his forked tongue. The explanation could be put off no longer, and Pundarika now gave out his real history and forthwith disappeared in the proper form into a pool of water close by. Parvati in the great agony of mind now began to curse her own womanly inquisitiveness, and immediately after the birth of child, immolated herself on a funeral pyre as befitted a Sati. Just in the nick of time, there turned up a Brahman carrying an idol of Surya-devata, the sungod. The Brahmin was thirsty, and placing his idol by the side of the pool he began to quench his thirst with the pool water. How great was his wonder when, about to resume his journey, he found that the idol could not be moved! He was casting about for an explanation, when, to his astonishment, he noticed a huge cobra protecting a baby from the sun with its hood expanded over the baby’s head! And now the snake revealed himself to the Brahman as Pundarika Naga, and narrated his strange story. The snake went on to prophesy that the child was destined to be Raja (king) of the country. This, child said Pundarika, was to be named Phani Mukut Rai and the country Nagpur. These revelations over, the snake once more returned to the pool and was seen no more. Phani Mukut Rai became the first ruler of Nagvanshi Dynasty.
Purpose of writing this story is not to confuse the scientific world but only to understand whether such features is related to the rulers of the snake dynasty of early first century AD? Is this features are man made or they are the outcome of geological weathering.
Sometimes it becomes essential to correlate the rock structure or rock paintings with civilization, if present at that time.
Whatever the truth is, but seeing the structures on the rocks and different caves in the Sutiambe hill I am sure that this hill will definitely reveal more hidden ancient historical, archeological and even geological facts in coming future.

Reference:

S.C. Roy, 2004. The Mundas and their country. Crown Publications, Ranchi, India.

B. Mangobinda, 1993. An historical outline of Pre-British Chotanagpur [From earliest times to 1765]. Educational Publications, Ranchi, India.