TY - JOUR
T1 - Linking the oceans to public health
T2 - Current efforts and future directions
AU - Kite-Powell, Hauke L.
AU - Fleming, Lora E.
AU - Backer, Lorraine C.
AU - Faustman, Elaine M.
AU - Hoagland, Porter
AU - Tsuchiya, Ami
AU - Younglove, Lisa R.
AU - Wilcox, Bruce A.
AU - Gast, Rebecca J.
N1 - Funding Information:
<supplement> <title> <p>Proceedings of the Centers for Oceans and Human Health Investigators Meeting</p> </title> <editor>John Stegeman and Lora Fleming</editor> <sponsor> <note>Support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is gratefully acknowledged.</note> </sponsor> <note>Proceedings</note> <url>http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1476-069X-7-s2-info.pdf</url> </supplement>
Funding Information:
Funding was provided in part by the NSF-NIEHS Oceans Centers at Woods Hole, University of Hawaii, University of Miami, and University of Washington, and the NOAA Oceans and Human Health Initiative Centers of Excellent in Charleston, Seattle and Milwaukee, the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the WHOI Marine Policy Center. Grant numbers are: NIEHS P50 ES012742 and NSF OCE-043072 (HLKP, RJG, PH); NSF OCE-
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - We review the major linkages between the oceans and public health, focusing on exposures and potential health effects due to anthropogenic and natural factors including: harmful algal blooms, microbes, and chemical pollutants in the oceans; consumption of seafood; and flooding events. We summarize briefly the current state of knowledge about public health effects and their economic consequences; and we discuss priorities for future research. We find that:. • There are numerous connections between the oceans, human activities, and human health that result in both positive and negative exposures and health effects (risks and benefits); and the study of these connections comprises a new interdisciplinary area, "oceans and human health.". • The state of present knowledge about the linkages between oceans and public health varies. Some risks, such as the acute health effects caused by toxins associated with shellfish poisoning and red tide, are relatively well understood. Other risks, such as those posed by chronic exposure to many anthropogenic chemicals, pathogens, and naturally occurring toxins in coastal waters, are less well quantified. Even where there is a good understanding of the mechanism for health effects, good epidemiological data are often lacking. Solid data on economic and social consequences of these linkages are also lacking in most cases. • The design of management measures to address these risks must take into account the complexities of human response to warnings and other guidance, and the economic tradeoffs among different risks and benefits. Future research in oceans and human health to address public health risks associated with marine pathogens and toxins, and with marine dimensions of global change, should include epidemiological, behavioral, and economic components to ensure that resulting management measures incorporate effective economic and risk/benefit tradeoffs.
AB - We review the major linkages between the oceans and public health, focusing on exposures and potential health effects due to anthropogenic and natural factors including: harmful algal blooms, microbes, and chemical pollutants in the oceans; consumption of seafood; and flooding events. We summarize briefly the current state of knowledge about public health effects and their economic consequences; and we discuss priorities for future research. We find that:. • There are numerous connections between the oceans, human activities, and human health that result in both positive and negative exposures and health effects (risks and benefits); and the study of these connections comprises a new interdisciplinary area, "oceans and human health.". • The state of present knowledge about the linkages between oceans and public health varies. Some risks, such as the acute health effects caused by toxins associated with shellfish poisoning and red tide, are relatively well understood. Other risks, such as those posed by chronic exposure to many anthropogenic chemicals, pathogens, and naturally occurring toxins in coastal waters, are less well quantified. Even where there is a good understanding of the mechanism for health effects, good epidemiological data are often lacking. Solid data on economic and social consequences of these linkages are also lacking in most cases. • The design of management measures to address these risks must take into account the complexities of human response to warnings and other guidance, and the economic tradeoffs among different risks and benefits. Future research in oceans and human health to address public health risks associated with marine pathogens and toxins, and with marine dimensions of global change, should include epidemiological, behavioral, and economic components to ensure that resulting management measures incorporate effective economic and risk/benefit tradeoffs.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=55849114898&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=55849114898&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/1476-069X-7-S2-S6
DO - 10.1186/1476-069X-7-S2-S6
M3 - Article
C2 - 19025677
AN - SCOPUS:55849114898
VL - 7
JO - Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source
JF - Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source
SN - 1476-069X
IS - SUPPL. 2
M1 - S6
ER -