Drivers, dynamics, and control of emerging vector-borne zoonotic diseases

Abstract

Emerging vector-borne diseases represent an important issue for global health. Many vector-borne pathogens have appeared in new regions in the past two decades, and many endemic diseases have increased in incidence. Although introductions and local emergence are frequently considered distinct processes, many emerging endemic pathogens are in fact invading at a local scale coincident with habitat change. We highlight key differences in the dynamics and disease burden that result from increased pathogen transmission following habitat change compared with the introduction of pathogens to new regions. Truly in situ emergence is commonly driven by changes in human factors as much as by enhanced enzootic cycles whereas pathogen invasion results from anthropogenic trade and travel and suitable conditions for a pathogen, including hosts, vectors, and climate. Once established, ecological factors related to vector characteristics shape the evolutionary selective pressure on pathogens that may result in increased use of humans as transmission hosts. We describe challenges inherent in the control of vector-borne zoonotic diseases and some emerging non-traditional strategies that may be more effective in the long term.

Utility of massive open online courses (MOOCs) concerning outbreaks of emerging and reemerging diseases

“…The emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases is partly due to the climate change, more specifically due to the rise in global temperature, as well as the increased migration and unplanned urbanization 1 . These events of great relevance to global health have turned these unknown diseases into realities many health professionals have to face daily.…”

The wild life of tick-borne pathogens

“…Understanding which factors drive population densities of ticks is an important step in assessing disease risk 188 . Most tick species spent part of their life in the vegetation searching for a host from which they need to acquire blood in order to survive and reproduce 189 .…”

Use of electricity and malaria occurrence: Is there a link? The case of Malawi

“…Malaria, which has been on the face of the earth for as long as we know, is a mosquito-borne disease caused by single-cell parasites which, invading the red blood cells, are responsible for high fever, and, lastly, for brain damage and death (Kilpatrick and Randolph, 2012). Nowadays there are more than 3.4 billion people at risk of contracting malaria, with the majority of them living in the most vulnerable and less developed areas of the globe; about 450 thousand people, predominantly children and pregnant women, die each year for malaria related cause (Zhou, 2015).…”