GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND ACCOMPANYING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A PHYSIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE BY AVICENNA FROM 1000 YEARS AGO TO THE PRESENT
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The phenomenon of global climate change, which has been discussed for decades whether it is a possibility or a rumor, has revealed with tangible cases. By the end of 2019, it has become clear that this is a global scientific fact. First year of current decade '2020' has been engraved our memories with abnormal natural events; the most dramatics are the Australian bushfires and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by the new type of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). By the emergence of the COVID-19, it has been realized that humanity is helpless against epidemics, as it was in the middle ages, no matter how advanced the technology. Is there a relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and global warming? It is interesting that this issue, which has been pondered in modern age, was actually addressed about 1000 years ago. Avicenna (Ibn-i Sina) drew attention to negative effects of climate change on health in his studies called the Canon of Medicine. In his corpus, he explained in detail that the changing climate can affect people's physiology and that people with impaired adaptation capacity may be exposed to diseases and epidemics. It is obvious that we have not learned a lesson from the past in our century, in which human beings have largely accepted global warming. Indeed, in such cases, history has the characteristic of repeating itself. For this reason, we have to reconsider Avicenna's determinations and find solutions to the problem of global warming beyond political or economic interests. We can counter possible future pandemics with vaccines, but we cannot end global warming with vaccines. In our review, today when we face global climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, discussions and scientific data on the pandemic are presented, and Avicenna's physiological perspectives on the subject from 1000 years ago are evaluated.
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