LSHTM Viral

We hear a lot about reducing air pollution, but why do we need to? Join Amy, Naomi and Karl exploring the ins and outs of air pollution including, how the particles affect the human body, and where they come from. We turn to new research that uses machine learning, satellite data and on-the-ground monitors to build a highly detailed pollution map of Great Britain, revealing exciting avenues for the future of air pollution and health research. Contributions from LSHTM's Prof Paul Wilkinson and Prof Antonio Gasparrini.

Will climate change make it too hot for humans to live? In today's planetary health episode of LSHTM Viral, we explore the deathly impacts of excess heat driven by global warming. Shakoor Hajat explains what actually happens to our body during heat stress and how that's causing increases in mortality and morbidity worldwide, and Ana Bonell shares a case study from her PhD research on how hot temperatures are affecting pregnant farmers - and their foetuses - in West Africa. Both researchers also explain why, despite the challenges, they are still hopeful.

The links between the environment and infectious diseases are extremely complicated with many factors to consider. With a novel virus like COVID-19, there are still many unknowns. In this episode, we ask expert ecologist, Dr Kris Murray, about the emergence of COVID-19 from bats in the Wuhan food market and how this relates to environmental change. Dr Rachel Lowe enlightens us with the latest evidence on environmental influences on other diseases, and what this could tell us about COVID-19 transmission risk in the future.

From Africa’s meningitis belt to the link between malaria and rice cultivation, and from mosquitoes in the Mekong Delta to mangoes in Mexico, the links between environmental change and infectious diseases are complex and, at times, surprising.

Join Karl Byrne, Amy Thomas and guests as they delve into this fascinating topic.

Karl and Amy chat about the US Presidential election and how it could impact America’s efforts towards curbing climate change going forward. Karl is also joined by Professor Martin Antonio from MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM and LSHTM PhD candidate Kallista Chan to talk about their research on two very different infectious diseases that are affected by environmental changes - bacterial meningitis and malaria - as well as the complex interactions between human impact on the environment and its effects on other diseases.

If you would like to get in touch with the team , you can email us at [email protected]

You can find out more about the Centre of Climate Change and Planetary Health here.

What role does the private sector play in achieving sustainable yet nutritious food systems? In today's episode, Naomi Stewart explores the relationship between the private sector and climate change when it comes to the production of food, from small scale farmers to the mass industrialisation of plant-based alternatives.

Healthy and sustainable diets are essential for planetary health. Poor diets are a leading cause of ill health and death globally, and the food system is responsible for between 20% and 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. On-going environmental changes are also having a direct impact on food production, and without substantial efforts to adapt to the new environmental conditions, the food system will struggle to deliver healthy and sustainable diets for all.

In this episode, Karl Byrne has a chat with Professor Alan Dangour, the Director of LSHTM's Centre of Climate Change and Planetary Health, and Pauline Scheelbeek, Assistant Professor of Nutritional and Environmental Epidemiology, about the challenges our food systems face and what we have to do to ensure healthy, nutritional and sustainable food supplies to feed the world's ever growing population.

Find out more about the Centre of Climate Change and Planetary Health.

Welcome to LSHTM Viral Season 2, which deep dives into planetary health with researchers from the newly formed Centre on Climate Change & Planetary Health at LSHTM, and other experts. In this episode we introduce the podcast team, Naomi Stewart, Karl Byrne and Amy Thomas. Sir Andy Haines, former director of LSHTM, also joins us to explain how the term planetary health came about, and why he became interested in this area.

In this bonus episode, we speak to Prof Heidi Larson, Director of the 'Vaccine Confidence Project'. Heidi and her team have just published a 5 year study looking at public confidence in vaccines worldwide across 149 countries. She discusses increases and declines in confidence, and what can be done to understand these different views in order to increase confidence and optimise vaccine uptake, which will be crucial with the hopeful arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In our final episode of LSHTM Viral's first season, we dive into the history of pandemics and public health in the last few centuries, from the bubonic plague to AIDS and H1N1. Researchers from the Centre for History in Public Health explore how COVID-19 fits into this history, and how the past has shaped how we are responding to the crisis now.

For World Mosquito Day 2020, we explore the impact of COVID-19 on malaria control and prevention. A recent report from WHO says the continued disruption to malaria prevention could revert mortality to levels seen two decades ago. In this episode we speak to Prof of Epidemiology and Global Health, Sian Clarke, Co-Director of the Malaria Centre at LSHTM and Dr Corine Ngufor, Assistant Prof of Medical Entomology explains how we can adapt current malaria campaigns in West Africa while maintaining safety from COVID-19 transmission. More information: www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/centres/malaria-centre