Severe Illness from Methyl Bromide Exposure at a Condominium Resort — U.S. Virgin Islands, March 2015

Children's environmental health and disaster resilience in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

The environment plays a significant role in the global burden of disease for children. Climate-related disasters such as the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season are increasingly contributing to this burden. United Nations designated Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are particularly at risk due to environmental health hazards caused by natural disasters, and health care structure vulnerabilities. United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG), specifically UN SDG 3, 13 and 17, focus on climate impacts via promotion of health preparedness and building partnerships between different sectors of society, respectively. The Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit's (PEHSU) work is consistent with these most notably via the delivery of environmental health services along with training nurses, doctors, and other health professionals, formation of partnerships and linking resources. Therefore, training a diverse array of health professionals and linking these groups to relevant community resources is of utmost importance and has the potential to enhance the effective management and early prevention of top environmental health (EH) risks. Nursing is identified as a key health sector to engage for this initiative. This article describes the work of the Federal Region 2 PEHSU in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands that supports health professionals' knowledge building, development of environmental health services, and promotion of wide scale access to such services for children and families. The PEHSU's work is consistent with these most notably with regards to the delivery of environmental health services in pediatrics.

The special vulnerability of children

The environment in which children grow, play and learn has a profound effect on their health and well-being. Exposures to a polluted indoor environment do not result in the same outcomes for children as for adults because children may be exposed differently, children metabolize some chemicals differently than adults; and children have "windows of vulnerability" while they are growing and developing when their target organs may be more susceptible than the target organs of adults.