All for One Health and One Health for All: Considerations for Successful Citizen Science Projects Conducting Vector Surveillance from Animal Hosts

Abstract

Many vector-borne diseases that affect humans are zoonotic, often involving some animal host amplifying the pathogen and infecting an arthropod vector, followed by pathogen spillover into the human population via the bite of the infected vector. As urbanization, globalization, travel, and trade continue to increase, so does the risk posed by vector-borne diseases and spillover events. With the introduction of new vectors and potential pathogens as well as range expansions of native vectors, it is vital to conduct vector and vector-borne disease surveillance. Traditional surveillance methods can be time-consuming and labor-intensive, especially when surveillance involves sampling from animals. In order to monitor for potential vector-borne disease threats, researchers have turned to the public to help with data collection. To address vector-borne disease and animal conservation needs, we conducted a literature review of studies from the United States and Canada utilizing citizen science efforts to collect arthropods of public health and veterinary interest from animals. We identified common stakeholder groups, the types of surveillance that are common with each group, and the literature gaps on understudied vectors and populations. From this review, we synthesized considerations for future research projects involving citizen scientist collection of arthropods that affect humans and animals.

Revealing large‐scale parasite ranges: An integrated spatiotemporal database and multisource analysis of the winter tick

“…Given that ecological processes, such as changes in tick range, occur on a spatial scale independent of political boundaries, obtaining a better understanding of the wide‐scale distribution of D. albipictus is key for conservation and wildlife management across the continent. In the United States, point maps of D. albipictus occurrence at the national level were updated several times throughout the early 20th century (Banks, 1908; Bishopp & Trembley, 1945; Bishopp & Wood, 1913; Cooley, 1939), with a shift to state‐ and county‐level surveillance in more recent decades (Eisen & Paddock, 2021; Poh et al, 2022). Maps of winter tick collection localities in Canada were not produced until the 1950s (Gregson, 1956) and were updated most recently as part of a larger effort to document ticks throughout the country (Lindquist et al, 2016).…”

The contribution of citizen science in the surveillance of wildlife and related arthropods

“…In fact, the collection from wider geographic areas than possible by small teams of scientists is a common feature of CS studies (Dickinson et al ., 2010 ; Hamer et al ., 2018 ; Johnson et al ., 2022 ; Sgroi et al ., 2023 ). However, the involvement of a large number of volunteers does not necessarily increase economic costs by scientific institutions, as most programmes do not pay contributors, as they simply participate because of their enthusiasm and interest in science (Hamer et al ., 2018 ; Rafiq et al ., 2019 ; Edwards et al ., 2021 ; Poh et al ., 2022 ). At the same time, the direct collaboration between scientists and citizens promotes transparency and trust between the general public and scientific institutions (Hamer et al ., 2018 ).…”

“…In other CS studies, ready-to-use collection kits (i.e. combs, tweezers, vials with 70% ethanol) are given by scientists to groups of hunters who attend training courses and follow instructions to collect, store and deliver ectoparasites obtained from their harvests (Hertz et al ., 2017 ), often using check stations, public hunting lodges or private slaughterhouses (Poh et al ., 2022 ). An example of large-scale sampling of ectoparasites directly run by citizens is the Project Acari, where participants use a custom-designed ‘tick kit’ that includes a tick card, clear stickers to attach ticks on the card and a biohazard bag with plastic envelope for return shipping (Chauhan et al ., 2020 ).…”

Passive collection of ticks in New Hampshire reveals species-specific patterns of distribution and activity

“…To note, in most cases a cell phone does not have enough magnifying power to provide a clear picture of a feeding immature tick, that is commonly identified by a specialist under a stereomicroscope. Thus, the best passive tick surveillance gathers three key pieces of information (Eisen and Eisen 2021, Poh et al 2022), namely (i) an accurate identification of the tick by specialists, and if necessary, the further processing of the tick(s) for carried pathogen(s); (ii) a basic set of questions prepared by the researcher(s) to gather as much information as possible from the participants; and (iii) coordinates of collection, together with minor details of the record. Although, the influence of socio-economic strata in the altruistic participation, or mistakes in geo-localization remain pertinent drawbacks (Eisen and Eisen 2021).…”