Impacts of Climate Change on Health and Wellbeing in South Africa.

ABSTRACT: Given its associated burden of disease, climate change in South Africa could be reframed as predominately a health issue, one necessitating an urgent health-sector response. The growing impact of climate change has major implications for South Africa, especially for the numerous vulnerable groups in the country. We systematically reviewed the literature by searching PubMed and Web of Science. Of the 820 papers screened, 34 were identified that assessed the impacts of climate change on health in the country. Most papers covered effects of heat on health or on infectious diseases (20/34; 59%). We found that extreme weather events are the most noticeable effects to date, especially droughts in the Western Cape, but rises in vector-borne diseases are gaining prominence. Climate aberration is a

SUBMITTER: Chersich MF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6164733 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature