OBSERVER: Copernicus for Health – Combating diseases through satellite data

The potential use of Earth Observation (EO) data for healthcare has long been recognised by several actors. Analysing geospatial characteristics such as air and water quality, temperature and disease vectors can significantly enhance our understanding of both dynamic ecosystem processes as well as their influence on human and animal health. Earth Observation is uniquely placed to provide information and insights into such parameters thanks to its temporal resolution and global reach. In Europe, both international organisations and national entities have leveraged data from Copernicus to track diseases, develop new solutions to improve the effectiveness of healthcare policies and operations (or mitigate adverse effects) and assess the economic impact of large-scale threats to health. Copernicus’s open data policy provides a further boost for the development of prediction and mitigation models as all data is free and fully available.

Tracking the spread of vector-borne diseases

Several initiatives have exploited the advantages of EO for the tracking of diseases. For example, academia and public health authorities in Italy have already cooperated to track the spread of the West Nile Virus (WNV) leveraging data from the Sentinel satellites. This collaboration monitored the environmental variables influencing the transmission cycle of the virus, focusing on geographical, climatological and hydrological characteristics. The environmental data was then integrated and processed with artificial intelligence (AI) to create prediction models highlighting where the disease was likely to spread. In 2022, the Lancet published a study investigating the use of artificial intelligence to predict West Nile Virus outbreaks in Europe with eco-climatic drivers. Climate data for the study was acquired from the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The study concluded that seasonal climate patterns, environmental factors and abundance of WNV vectors were key factors in past outbreaks. Consistent, reliable and up-to-date information from Copernicus is thus crucial in enabling the development of prediction models, especially in the face of climate change impacts, leading to a geographic expansion of the virus.

Budding interest in using EO data to assess non-communicable diseases

While EO data has been consistently employed in the research and mitigation of vector-based diseases, there exists a growing academic and commercial interest in the potential to use EO data in assessing non-communicable diseases of civilisation. Diseases such as cancer, asthma, diabetes and mental health disorders among others have been key focus areas. While this field is still in the initial stages, there has been a significant increase in research published in the past 5-7 years. Susceptibility to non-communicable diseases is affected by various risk factors, most commonly including genetic, behavioural and environmental risks: data from EO systems such as Copernicus can be employed to research both environmental and behavioural parameters impacting the occurrence of specific non-communicable diseases.

 

Using Copernicus insights for public health

The European Environment Agency, in partnership with the European Commission, have launched the European Climate and Health Observatory in 2021 with the aim to further the knowledge base for policy on climate change and human health. The Copernicus Services, especially the Climate Change Service, the Atmosphere Monitoring Service and the Land Monitoring Service, act as key partners for the Observatory, whose workplan for 2021-2022 has been focused upon researching heat and climate-sensitive vector-based diseases through Copernicus data.

The Thematic Hubs are a new addition to the Copernicus ecosystem, and among the first ones to be set up is the Copernicus Thematic Hub on Health. The Hub will serve as a single entry point for the ensemble of data, products and information from the Copernicus services and component. This will facilitate access to existing Copernicus products with relevance to public health, in a simple, user friendly, subject oriented way to the health user community.

The Thematic Hub on Health will be coordinated by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, and is planned to be launched for the consolidation phase in June 2023.Assessing the economic and social impact of diseases

Furthermore, EO data from Copernicus, integrated with data of other providers, has also been employed to assess the economic and social impacts of diseases, most prominently during the COVID-19 pandemic. A collaboration between the EU and ESA generated the Rapid Action Coronavirus Earth observation dashboard—a platform measuring the impact of the lockdown and monitoring post-lockdown recovery activities. The dashboard, later expanded in scope to become the Rapid Action for Citizens with EO (RACE), combined different sources of EO data to shed light on the societal and economic impacts of coronavirus. In addition to establishing early warning systems for outbreak management and supporting socio-economic impact assessment of diseases, Copernicus offers many other applications impacting health. Such applications include modelling organism and disease distributions, tracking disease and public health trends and informing planning of health services and sites.

Copernicus addressing the needs of healthcare authorities and research institutions

Recent threats to public health, including the coronavirus pandemic, have highlighted the need for accurate and timely information to support policy- and decision-making for prevention and mitigation. Furthermore, research into environmental factors for both vector-based and non-communicable diseases has shown that climate change exacerbates risks due to evolving conditions, leading for instance to increased occurrences and spread in naïve areas [1]. Earth observation, and specifically Copernicus, is well-suited to address both needs. Copernicus’s temporal resolution, extensive data archive and free and open data policy has the potential to accelerate and expand our knowledge on health threats as well as enabling development of preventive policies against their further spread.

[1] Naïve areas: areas not previously exposed to an antigen.