A Climate Change Impact Assessment on the Spread of Furunculosis in the Ouje-Bougoumou Region

• Main Author: Tam, Benita
• Other Authors: Gough, William A.
• Format: Others
• Language: en_ca
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: climate change; Aboriginal health; furunculosis; 0368
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/17227

A climate change impact assessment was conducted to examine the spread of furunculosis found in the fish species of Ouje-Bougoumou; and subsequently to examine the resulting impacts on the health of the community. A past assessment was performed to assess whether there was a temporal relationship between increased temperatures and past incidences of furunculosis using observed climate data and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) data. To project future impacts of climate change, climate models, lake models and TEK were used. Findings show that the rise in air mean temperature coincides with the timeline of past incidences of furunculosis. It is predicted that the lake temperatures will remain suitable for the presence of A. salmonicida; thus, it is likely that the disease will persist throughout the twenty-first century. To conclude, climate change is not eliminated as a plausible factor to the onset of furunculosis.