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Environmental Health Division
Climate and Health Stories: Molly Peterson
Meet Molly Peterson.
Molly is a vectorborne disease epidemiologist with our Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division. Molly investigates diseases spread by ticks, mosquitoes, and other pests in Minnesota. In the office, Molly and her team follow-up on 8,000 — 10,000 reports of potential cases each year. Out in the field, she conducts vector surveillance by mosquito and tick sampling. Molly’s work also includes educating healthcare providers, outdoor recreationists, and other groups about how to protect yourself and others from diseases spread by ticks and mosquitoes.
What most excites you about your work?
Molly: I am most excited by the topics I get to work with in my job. Vectorborne diseases are incredibly complex and there are so many factors that play into someone’s disease risk — it’s a fun puzzle. People who spend a lot of time outdoors are most at risk, and that is such a large population here in Minnesota, it’s such a relevant topic for our state.
How is your program preparing for and/or responding to climate changes in Minnesota?
Molly: Minnesota is unique in that we have a robust, stand-alone Vectorborne Disease Unit at MDH. Many other states don’t have this type of centralized surveillance in place and need to reach out for help when a new disease (such as Zika) emerges. It is our goal to maintain strong infrastructure to continue our work. If a new disease emerges in the face of climate change, we will be ready to take it on.
Why do you think it’s important for MDH to be working on this issue?
Molly: Climate change will impact human health in so many different ways — from environmental factors like air quality and water quality, to infectious diseases like the topics I work on. It’s important that we all frame our work within climate change and understand that the challenges we face today will evolve, due to climate change. I think it is especially important for our Vectorborne Disease Unit to incorporate climate change into our daily work, because it will alter the environment that these vectors live and thrive in.
How has climate change impacted your life personally?
Molly: I’m here in Minnesota and my dad lives in Pennsylvania, along Lake Erie, and my brother and sister live in North Carolina. At any one time, all four of us are experiencing completely different weather. My brother and sister have similar experiences, but when the four of us touch base for things like holidays or visiting each other, our weather concerns are so different.
Over the past few years I’ve had different concerns for each family member. My brother and sister had to hunker down together and find somewhere safe to wait out Hurricane Florence and at the same time, my dad was experiencing feet and feet of snow.
I wonder about my family’s ability to get together or just feel safe in the long run. We are all so spread out, it feels like you are alone. It’s tough to know where the best place is to avoid extreme weather events — they just seem to be happening more and more now. When you don’t have a huge support system (like family nearby), if something does happen, you have less resources to pull from. It’s scary to think about.
How has integrating climate change into your work allowed you to collaborate with programs you normally wouldn’t?
Molly: Creating our Climate Change, Health, and Vectorborne Diseases Training Module was a huge success. We had over 50 people attend the live webinar and it has continued to be a great resource. This Spring, one of our Duluth-based epidemiologists participated in a Climate Summit and she ended up using the module for her talk. It has been a useful resource for both internal and external health professionals. It was such a great opportunity for us to collaborate with the MDH Climate & Health Program and work together.
What do you think are the biggest opportunities for climate and health moving forward?
Molly: Private businesses need to take the lead on sustainability. Consumers don’t always have the education or tools to properly dispose of waste, such as Styrofoam and plastic packaging. Businesses need to make conscious decisions about the products they are making and how they are packaging and transporting them.
As a renter, I see a lot of opportunities for landlords to educate their tenants. A lot of people still don’t know how to properly recycle and I always see items sorted in the wrong bins. It would be great to create more environmentally-friendly apartment communities.