Extension: Climate Science Connections

Instruction

In Lessons 1 & 2, learners were introduced to the concept of connections between climate and disease event risk. In the following case study, learners are asked to extend their analyses of these connections to an evaluation of Rift Valley Fever risk in Uganda. This case study may be used as an authentic evaluation of concepts introduced in Lessons 1 and 2.

Working individually or in groups, learners will use a One Health Approach to understand risks for a Rift Valley fever outbreak in Uganda.They will then identify the connections between these risks and climate change and develop a tool to communicate these risks to a target audience. Provide learners with the following information to guide their work or modify as needed for your audience. The information below is also available as a downloadable student handout. Products of the activity may include written reports, oral presentations, or video/audio products as time and context allow.

Climate Change and Disease Event Risks 

Human-related activities that release greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere have abruptly accelerated climate change. As a result, the integrity of natural ecosystems and their interrelated functions are being compromised. Climate change is currently seen as an existential threat to all life forms on our planet. The public health threat is manifesting in part as a surge in emerging and resurging infectious diseases caused by bacterial, viral, and fungal pathogens.

Climate change is projected to increase temperatures and impact water availability across Uganda, with some areas expected to experience flooding due to increased intensity of rainfall (central and southern regions),as well as the continued aridity and increased frequency of droughts for others(north, northeastern, west and southwestern regions). Key sectors, such as agriculture, health, water resources, wetlands, and forests, are vulnerable to these climate change impacts in Uganda. Climate change projection reports for Uganda predict a rise in temperatures between 1 and 1.8degrees Celsius over the next 25-80 years.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a zoonotic mosquito-borneviral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) caused by Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV). RVF is endemic throughout most of Africa and theArabian Peninsula and causes considerable morbidity and mortality among domestic livestock. There have been multiple outbreaks of RVF in Uganda in the past decade, the most recent in 2023 in the Mbarara district.

Your task is to use a One Health approach to understand how the potential impacts climate change and associated weather events may have on human, animal, and environmental risk factors for an RVF outbreak in Uganda. Then, you will focus your research on a specific at-risk population and develop a tool to communicate risks appropriately and effectively.

Recommended steps:

●       Research the pathogen that causes RVF.

●       Identify the risks associated with human, animal, and environmental factors, and their interactions.

●       Identify how the effects of climate change on temperature and precipitation could influence the identified risks.

●       Identify a target audience (based on geography, age, occupation, or other demographic factors)for whom RFV risks may be increased in the context of climate change or associated weather events.

●       Create a presentation of your findings that could be used to communicate these risks to the target audience you have chosen.

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