It is therefore important that doctors learn to recognize the symptoms in order to ensure optimal patient care, add the authors.
“It’s a combination of diseases that don’t get a lot of attention to begin with, in a region that doesn’t get a lot of attention,” one of the researchers explained in an interview. study authors, Dr. Justin Penner, an infectious disease specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario who also practices at Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit, Nunavut.
“That’s why we wanted clinicians, especially those working in this type of environment, to take a close look at this issue.”
Risk factors for zoonotic infections in the Arctic include traditional foods ― game, fish and marine mammals ― that are part of the healthy, traditional diet of many Arctic communities, the authors warn.
Hunting, harvesting animals and preparing animal skins, as well as owning sled dogs, are also risk factors for animal-borne diseases, they add.
However, we should not fear a new pandemic, assured Dr. Penner, even if the COVID-19 health crisis possibly broke out when a virus passed from animals to humans.
“I don’t think it’s likely that it (zoonotic infection) would spread like COVID, but it could certainly go unnoticed,” Dr. Penner said. The problem is not only that they are under-detected, but also under-reported, so we don’t really know their incidence because many clinicians don’t know about them.
That being said, he continues, it cannot be denied that interactions between humans and animals in markets where live animals are sold increase the risk of transmission of diseases, new or old, or the emergence of new variants.
-Climate change in the Arctic is affecting the local ecosystem, the authors warn. Animal behavior is changing, including migration patterns, largely because of diminishing sea ice, which limits hunting. These factors can affect the life cycles of parasites, we can read in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association.
“The environment is changing and that includes the environment in the North, and probably it’s changing more rapidly than other areas of the Arctic,” Dr. Penner said. It greatly disrupts the ecosystem and has an impact on the spread of diseases.”
Melting permafrost impacts food processing, making practices such as fermentation and storage in ice cellars less reliable, the authors add.
Warmer temperatures also favor the spread of insect vectors to higher latitudes, which will further affect Arctic ecosystems and cause other infections to emerge in the region where populations are vulnerable, the researchers write.
Zoonotic infections in the Arctic generally have specific epidemiology and modes of transmission that help inform clinical assessments, the authors point out. When evaluating patients, it is fundamental to identify relevant exposures associated with zoonotic diseases in the clinical history.
“In our document we talk about the concept of ‘One Health,’ and I think it’s very important,” said Dr. Penner. Humans and animals are interacting more and more closely, and this will certainly cause or facilitate the transmission of diseases.
Clinicians working in the Arctic must appreciate and learn about the indigenous cultures of the communities they serve, in order to identify unique exposure risks not found elsewhere in Canada and better inform clinical care, the study authors conclude.
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