Canadian Woman First in The World to be Diagnosed as Suffering from 'Climate Change'
According to Times Colonist Dr Kyle Merritt of Kootenay Lake Hospital who has made the diagnosis, he has seen numerous cases where the record heat wave have worsened existing health issues like diabetes, heart failure, and so on. However, linking mortality or severe illness to heat waves or air pollution is a struggle.
A doctor in Canada’s British Columbia province has diagnosed a Canadian woman in her 70s to be the first ever patient as suffering from “climate change”.
The patient was having breathing troubles after the recent wildfires in Kootenays worsened her asthma, according to a report in Canada’s Times Colonist newspaper. According to the BC Wildfire Service website. The Kootenays region in the British Columbia province has seen over 1,600 wildfires this fiscal year.
According to Times Colonist Dr Kyle Merritt of Kootenay Lake Hospital who has made the diagnosis, he has seen numerous cases where the record heat wave have worsened existing health issues like diabetes, heart failure, and so on. However, linking mortality or severe illness to heat waves or air pollution is a struggle. Canada Heatwave: Over 200 People Killed As Temperature Hits Record High of 49.5 Degree Celsius; Scorching Conditions Extend to US Pacific Northwest
Record-breaking heatwave conditions have been witnessed in Canada this year with temperatures soaring up to 49.5 degree.
Faced with treating the surging cases of heat illness that he had seen only in medical school, Dr. Merritt reached out to other doctors in neighbouring provinces of Prince George, Kamloops, Vancouver and Victoria.
Since June, hundreds of people have died in a heat wave that broke heat records in canada .
When asked why he chose make the unusual diagnosis, the report quotes Dr. Merritt as saying: “If we’re not looking at the underlying cause, and we’re just treating the symptoms, we’re just gonna keep falling further and further behind.”
It’s me trying to just … process what I’m seeing. We’re in the emergency department, we look after everybody, from the most privileged to the most vulnerable, from cradle to grave, we see everybody. And it’s hard to see people, especially the most vulnerable people in our society, being affected. It’s frustrating,” he says.
The link between public health and climate crisis has been a hot topic at the ongoing COP26 summit in Glasgow. The climate conference being hosted by the United Kingdom has seen world leaders and technological giants come together to strengthen a global response to the threat of climate change. However, many of the deals and announcements made have been criticised by activists as not aggressive enough to make a meaningful difference.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 09, 2021 07:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).