Tracking events of public health importance related to the El Niño Southern Oscillation phenomenon in the Region of the Americas
The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a naturally occurring phenomenon involving fluctuating ocean temperatures coupled with changes in the atmosphere (winds, pressure, rainfall). The shifting climatic phases can lead to wide-ranging public health consequences.
The impact of the El Niño phenomenon may directly be felt as floods and tropical storms in parts of South America or as droughts, wildfires, and heat because of dry conditions in Central America, the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean Islands, and parts of South America.
Previous El Niño events have been associated with changes in the breeding and life cycles of vectors, with an increase in reported malaria, arboviral infections like dengue, zika, chikungunya, rodent-borne infections, and other vector-borne illnesses. Dry conditions like droughts may lead to food insecurity and malnutrition, in addition to acute impacts like a rise in water or food-borne infections like cholera and other diarrheal diseases. In addition, the delivery of health services may be affected by the increased frequency of natural hazards. Above-average sea surface temperatures (SST) have been observed since earlier this year, and are forecasted to continue through February 2024, indicating a strong El Niño event.
¿How does PAHO proactively monitor and respond to expansive health threats associated with El Niño?
The Health Information and Risk Assessment (HIM) Unit within the PAHO Health Emergencies Department (PHE) has developed a dashboard that tracks PAHO Epidemiological Alerts on events or signals that may be public health emergencies of international concern. Data sources and information namely from PAHO/WHO, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Global Drought Observatory (GDO), and the World Food Programme (WFP) are collated and harmonized to provide a comprehensive, one-stop platform to monitor and evaluate alerts in the region of the Americas.
The strength of this dashboard lies in its ability to provide a real-time and historical perspective on disease trends and their correlation with environmental and climatic factors, particularly average sea surface temperature through the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI), acting as an indicator for El Niño events. This tool not only alerts public health professionals and policymakers to emerging threats but also offers a contextual understanding of how similar events have impacted public health in the past.
The ability to visualize disease events on a spatiotemporal scale is compelling information in epidemic intelligence. The dashboard enables users to track disease outbreaks, monitor disease hotspots, and assess the potential for disease spread based on environmental conditions. This tool not only alerts public health professionals and policymakers to emerging threats but also offers a contextual understanding of similar events in the past. It allows early identification of vulnerable regions and populations, thereby allowing for timely interventions to prevent or mitigate the impact of disease outbreaks.
In essence, this GIS dashboard is a dynamic and adaptive early warning system that can empower decision-makers to make informed choices to protect public health. By continuously screening and gathering official reports and information sources, it functions as a sentinel for potential health threats exacerbated by the current El Niño event. In a world where the intersection of climate and health becomes increasingly complex, the HIM Unit's GIS dashboard emerges as a powerful tool, aiding member states in their mission to safeguard the health and well-being of their populations. It is a model for how technology and data-driven approaches can be leveraged to provide timely and context-aware early warnings in the face of emerging health crises.
PAHO/WHO epidemiologists at the Country Office level have been guided in the use of this dashboard to support technical cooperation on the ground level. Access the dashboard at El Niño Southern Oscillation Disease Monitoring Dashboard (arcgis.com)