Climate Change, Infectious Diseases and Health: Connecting the Dots

By Cecile Lantican

April 23, 2012

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As we moved to other villages, my hypothesis was beginning to develop: the dots are not connected. In the debate of climate change, human health, which is a localized issue, has not been fully explained and understood.

Responses I got from some people I met during the field trip implied that people care less about health than they care about their livelihood and sources of income.

Mrs. Nga, 48 years old, has been raising shrimps in the Xuan Thuy National Park. She said, “I don’t know climate change. I know that the weather has changed. When I was young, the weather was consistent. Today, the weather has become extreme: if it is cold – too long cold months; if it is hot – too long hot season.”

I asked, "What do you feel when weather changes?" "I feel, head ache, but I don't get sick. No need for me to see a doctor. If I get serious, I will choose to go to the hospital in Hanoi, not here because the district hospital is not complete."

Mrs. Thin, who maintains her house as a typical home-stay for foreign students and tourists, claimed that she never goes to a clinic to see a doctor. The Giao Xuan hospital is only few meters away from her house.

I attempted to interview medical staff, but the timing of my visit was not right; it was lunch time when I reached the place; there was no one - no medical staff and no patients were there.

We passed by the sea side where fishermen stop and organize their catch. I met Mr. Thi Thao, a fisherman of 15 years. Every day early in the morning he goes to the sea to catch the small fishes used as raw material by a factory in Hanoi to make fish sauce. He makes US 150 dollars a month from his catch. When I asked, “what common illnesses have you experienced in the last two years?” he was proud to tell me that he was “strong, healthy and did not get sick.”

I was too careful not to probe in asking questions because I may be mistaken as someone looking for sick people (for what?).

I almost gave up asking people for their “perceptions” and establishing the direct link of climate change with health.

Finally, I came closer to my hypothesis. I met Mr. Han, who raises earthworms for breeding purposes. He supplies breeders to other farmers in the village who raise earthworms (vermicomposting) that are bought by a pharmaceutical company in Hanoi. The earthworms are also fed to chickens and ducks that are free-ranging in his backyard and to the fishes in his small pond around the house.

I asked Mr. Han, “Do you get sick when the weather changes?” Yes, he replied. “People at my age, particularly the older ones, get sick from influenza when the weather suddenly changes. But I am not worried about influenza; I can buy medicine at the pharmacy.”

Mr. Han was not worried about influenza, but his living quarter is attached to an extended room where he raises his earthworms. The bed (growing medium) where he grows his worms was made of animal dung, rice straw, kitchen scraps and other litter from his backyard. It is kept moist and damp -- conditions favorable to fungus, bacteria and viruses.

We visited one household that raises mushrooms. The area is less than a meter away from the house. However, the owner also raises pigs in one corner of his living quarters, and chickens and ducks roam freely in the backyard. This arrangement opposes our biosecurity message of “separation” and keeping animals away from the living quarters.

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