The COVID-19 pandemic caught the world off guard in 2020 despite many warnings that pandemics were on the horizon. The COVID pandemic left our healthcare systems broken and struggling to recover and exposed many systemic issues and shortcomings for healthcare and senior living operators. With climate change becoming another headstrong crisis, it is no longer a question of when climate change hazards will trigger or exacerbate an epidemic. Moreover, healthcare operators and senior living communities are equally unprepared for it, and senior living operators must recognize the risk and ensure robust infectious disease surveillance to preserve the health and wellness of residents and their organizations.
58% human infectious diseases worsened by climate change
The World Economic Forum reports that climate change can worsen 58% of human infectious diseases. Recent reports indicate that climate change may directly link to infectious disease spread throughout the world, which in turn can pose a health security threat. Climate change is reported to be one of the greatest threats to human health in the twenty-first century. Significant temperature increases, heavy rainfall and severe droughts trigger climate change. Weather and climate events, population movement, land use changes, urbanization, global trade, and other drivers can catalyze a succession of secondary events that can lead to various health impacts, including infectious disease outbreaks. For example, waterborne disease outbreaks are of particular concern after hurricanes and prolonged flooding, when the local water supply has been contaminated by human or animal waste. The cascading risk pathways of causally connected events can result in large-scale outbreaks and affect the global population. A recent analysis revealed that of 375 infectious diseases affecting humans, 218 (58%) could be exacerbated by climatic hazards. The most significant number these diseases worsened by climate change were those spread to humans by mosquitos, bats or rodents.
Because of rising temperatures, climate-sensitive infectious diseases include vector-borne illnesses such as malaria, as the transmission is predicted to increase due to the climatic suitability of mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue, Zika and chikungunya.
For instance, in 2018, Europe experienced a significant outbreak of West Nile virus, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes, which was associated with early spring temperatures and higher greenhouse gas emission scenarios. This is a clear example of how climate change can directly impact the spread of infectious diseases. Similarly, tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis are projected to spread in North America due to climate change. Droughts also pose infection control problems and may result in unsafe water sources, causing higher contamination rates, including waterborne pathogens like hepatitis E under water stress conditions.
Extreme weather conditions result in the displacement of humans and animals and add stress to supplies for medical care and transport. Climate change has direct and indirect health impacts and infectious disease exposures, for example:
A proactive risk managed approach is the best way to address the issues that climate change pose to seniors. However, not all exposures can be fully eliminated; owners and operators of senior living establishments can still find themselves open to potential allegations of negligence and held liable for infectious disease related claims. The communicable disease exclusion or pandemic exclusion placed upon many general liability insurance coverages mean that some senior living providers are underinsured when it comes to this growing risk area.
The communicable disease liability insurance policy offers insurance coverage for outbreaks arising from communicable diseases where a third party has alleged there has been negligence in causing or exacerbating an outbreak. While this coverage will not cover all climate change associated outbreaks, it will cover those that can be spread from person to person or animal to person. This type of coverage will support other risk management endeavors. Senior living establishments can work with their brokers to determine coverage needs.
Understanding how infectious diseases spread is crucial for tackling outbreaks and threats from climate change, especially for senior living. A multi-disciplinary approach is necessary including public health interventions vaccines, healthcare community preparations and policies to protect and preserve resident well-being in the face of a changing climate.
Willis Towers Watson hopes you found the general information provided in this publication informative and helpful. The information contained herein is not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice and should not be relied upon in lieu of consultation with your own legal advisors. In the event you would like more information regarding your insurance coverage, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. In North America, Willis Towers Watson offers insurance products through licensed entities, including Willis Towers Watson Northeast, Inc. (in the United States) and Willis Canada Inc. (in Canada).
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