ARCTIC EPIDEMIOLOGY 



The reason for this uniformity in host response under natural 

 conditions appears to be that residents of Barrow or Thule or 

 arctic Lapland so modify their microclimate that they seldom suffer 

 physiologic stress from cold, although they are susceptible to some 

 of its secondary effects. 



In the time remaining, I would like to mention briefly certain 

 features of the arctic environment. 



ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN DISEASES OF 

 ARCTIC POPULATIONS 



The geographer defines the Arctic as that portion of the northern 

 hemisphere lying within the Arctic Circle, which falls at 66^ 30' 

 north latitude. This marks the southernboundary of territory where 

 at least one day each summer the sun never dips below the horizon, 

 and one day each winter it never appears. The characteristic types 

 of terrain are tundra, usually bordering the coast, taiga or inland 

 forested regions, and glacial topography typified by the Greenland 

 ice-cap and parts of the Canadian archipelago. 



Theclimatologistdefines the Arctic as that territory lying within 

 the 50° F isotherm, an imaginary line whichbounds an area where 

 the average temperature during the warmest month of the year does 

 not exceed 50° F. To the agronomist, concerned with crop potentialj 

 the number of frost free days a year is much more important than 

 minimal winter temperatures. 



Permafrost is one physical feature of the arctic environment 

 which influences distribution of disease. Obviously when the earth 

 is permanently frozen, subsurface excreta disposal is difficult or 

 impossible, and water must be procured from easily polluted surface 

 sources. A more indirect, but significant affect of permafrost is the 

 restriction it places on agriculture. People inhabiting such an area 

 must rely upon a hunting or fishing economy with its attendent lower 

 standard of living, unless, of course, military establishments or 



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