Link to our Environmental Health 2025 Google Drive
We will start this section of the course by briefly considering Human Population Growth and then quickly move on to Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Fri Jan 3rd
Changing Human Populations (see also your handout from this day)
1. What is Environmental Health? (We will start off brainstorming Env Health terms.)
2. Each group will be assigned parts of this to read during class today: NewScientistHumanPopulation
3. In your groups you will then visit the following websites to find graphics that you found interesting. Make sure your group agrees on two graphics they would like to share. DO NOT CHOOSE THE FIRST ONE YOU LOOK AT-DIG A BIT. http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ and https://ourworldindata.org/population-growth
When you have selected your graphics visit this link to the Google Slideshow to add your slides to (follow directions at the start of the slide show). This slideshow is in the Google folder many of our shared docs will be stored in in Environmental Health 2025 Google Folder Link (also linked above).
Useful Population Debate extras….
- There are also a number of great New York Times articles that have come out recently on aging populations and long term population declines. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/07/16/world/world-demographics.html
- And this from the United Nations with links to their July 2024 Report https://www.un.org/en/UN-projects-world-population-to-peak-within-this-century
- Watch this for fun at some point.. HansRoslingPopGrowth
- This is a good wrap up and review: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/8/20/20802413/overpopulation-demographic-transition-population-explained
- This is also a kind of recent article: The Population Debate New Scientist 11.2020
During class you will also sign up for a pathogen. To do so, find the “Emerging Infectious Diseases” in our “Environmental Health 2025” Google Folder and choose a day to present (Tues, Wed, Thur). Instructions are on the first slide of the ppt.
Mon Jan 6th
Lyme Disease/Biodiversity and Human Health (we may wrap up Human Population Growth first)
- LymeReview2013EHP (Good basic overview-lots of photos)
- LoseBiodLoseHealth2015PNAS (2 pages) or maybe this link works LoseBiodLoseHealth2015PNAS
- DeerPredatorsLyme2012PNAS (focus on the main message-intro and discussion- and the cool graphs-not the models so much!)
- Here is the pdf of slides from the article: DeerLymeGraphs+DemoTransitionGraphic
Tues Jan 7th
Influenza
- Please read these two related articles (3 pages total) published in the same volume of the same journal “Science.” They overlap quite a bit. H5N1 Outbreak Science Mag #1 H5N1 Outbreak Science Mag#2
- H5N1 Science Editorial 2024 (One page editorial from Summer 2024)
- Novel bird flu strain continues to threaten animal, public health _ American Veterinary Medical Association (From Dec 2024-several pages and overlaps quite a bit with the other readings)
- http://needtoknow.nas.edu/id/threats/influenza/ (Good background Info-read carefully)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBOZUcahT0M (Short 15 minute video, but do take notes)
- You might check this link showing the stats on poultry outbreaks in the US. (At the bottom of the page you can scroll down and see where and when in MN there have been outbreaks and how many birds were culled.) https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-2022/2022-hpai-commercial-backyard-flocks
- Check out this link to H5N1 cases in wild birds tested at the Raptor Center at the University of MN. https://raptor.umn.edu/about-us/our-research/HPAI
- Consider watching the short video available in this article https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/09/22/ducks-offer-clues-to-avian-influenza-risk
- To review after class-Here is a copy of the “Gallery Walk” images on Influenza that we will use in class Gallery Walk- Influenza
Useful extras…
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/why-the-ongoing-bird-flu-outbreak-is-driving-up-poultry-costs-ahead-of-thanksgiving (article from 2022 on price of chicken and turkey-this is also one of the reasons egg prices are so high)
- This website lets you examine current H5N1 outbreaks (highly pathogenic “bird flu”) in commercial facilities https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/data-map-commercial.html
- This website lets you examine current H5N1 outbreaks (highly pathogenic “bird flu”) in wild birds! https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-2022/2022-hpai-wild-birds
- This website lets you examine current “human influenza” numbers across the US https://www.cdc.gov/fluview/overview/fluview-interactive.html
- This website shows the evolutionary history (tracked by comparing genotypes) for various influenzas (and for SARS Co-V-2):https://nextstrain.org/flu/seasonal/h3n2/ha/2y
Wed Jan 8th
Evolution and Spread of Pathogens
- RulesOfContagion
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKUGZvW99os (part 1 goes over R0 with several examples)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMA116kzyK4 (part 2 goes over herd immunity)
- Slides from class will go here:H5N1 Current Outbreak
The handout for today links to these sites…
- https://imgur.com/gallery/8M7q8#J7LANQ4
- https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/14/science/coronavirus-transmission-cough-6-feet-ar-ul.html Note that it is from April 2020:)! Are you able to access it?
Thur Jan 9
COVID 19 due to infection by SARS-CoV-2 : A Focus on pathogen emergence and the “Human Animal Interface”
-
- Was the Covid19 Pandemic Avoidable
- Deforestation+Extinction Nature 2020
- Khetan2020COVID-19+Food Connection
- Here is the link to an Human Animal Interface assignment for the last part of class: Human Animal Interface slideshow in our Google Folder.
Extras..
- Did you find the R0 for SARS CoV2? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8992231/ What would the hypothetical herd immunity need to be for this R0 value?
Fri Jan 10
COVID 19, Structural Racism, Vaccine Equity
- Read : Covid + Race Scientific American
- Read: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/study-reveals-racial-disparities-covid-19-therapy-not-death
- Browse this short article by some MN researchers: https://twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/minnesota-fewer-white-people-are-vaccinated-covid-19-most-racial-groups-still-less
- Read the main page of this website on Global COVID Vaccine Equity and play with the interactive parts: https://data.undp.org/vaccine-equity/
Useful Extras…..
- Were you aware of how many other species picked up the SARS CoV2 virus from us? https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/08/05/1114357154/how-many-animal-species-have-caught-covid-first-global-tracker-has-partial-answe
- Or here is the actual website linked in the article above! https://vis.csh.ac.at/sars-ani/#infections
OFFICE HOURS in the Afternoon 1:00-2:30 any questions?
This interview with scientists about the new H5N1 strain was from Jan 8th might be really good review! https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510053/on-point
- “What you need to know about bird flu”-A Louisiana resident has died from bird flu. Just as during the COVID outbreak, there’s a lot of misinformation circulating about H5N1. We’ll get a clear assessment on bird flu, how it’s changing, and efforts to control it.
Here are the Influenza vs Coronavirus slides I shared in class:Influenza vs Coronaviruses
Mon Jan 13
–>>EXAM <<–
- FYI..YOU DO HAVE A PAPER TO READ for Tuesday-see next section of the course.