Narrative Review on Health-EDRM Primary Prevention Measures for Vector-Borne Diseases

Abstract

Climate change is expanding the global at-risk population for vector-borne diseases (VBDs). The World Health Organization (WHO) health emergency and disaster risk management (health-EDRM) framework emphasises the importance of primary prevention of biological hazards and its value in protecting against VBDs. The framework encourages stakeholder coordination and information sharing, though there is still a need to reinforce prevention and recovery within disaster management. This keyword-search based narrative literature review searched databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase and Medline between January 2000 and May 2020, and identified 134 publications. In total, 10 health-EDRM primary prevention measures are summarised at three levels (personal, environmental and household). Enabling factor, limiting factors, co-benefits and strength of evidence were identified. Current studies on primary prevention measures for VBDs focus on health risk-reduction, with minimal evaluation of actual disease reduction. Although prevention against mosquito-borne diseases, notably malaria, has been well-studied, research on other vectors and VBDs remains limited. Other gaps included the limited evidence pertaining to prevention in resource-poor settings and the efficacy of alternatives, discrepancies amongst agencies’ recommendations, and limited studies on the impact of technological advancements and habitat change on VBD prevalence. Health-EDRM primary prevention measures for VBDs require high-priority research to facilitate multifaceted, multi-sectoral, coordinated responses that will enable effective risk mitigation.

Narrative Review of Primary Preventive Interventions against Water-Borne Diseases: Scientific Evidence of Health-EDRM in Contexts with Inadequate Safe Drinking Water

“…Sustainable and continuous implementation is required for all interventions to ensure maximum efficacy, and alternatives to such behavior should also be explored. Certain interventions, for example, waste management and handwashing, also exert co-benefit in reducing risks from other biological hazards under the health-EDRM framework, such as food-borne, vector-borne and droplet-borne diseases [ 111 , 112 , 113 ].…”

“…For example, the beneficial effect of handwashing with soap is consistent across various studies, but there is little evidence to support the use of alternatives, such as ash in communities where soap is not available [ 2 , 116 ]. The efficacy of such alternatives has been demonstrated in averting the transmission of droplet-borne and vector-borne, but not in waterborne diseases [ 112 , 113 ]. As almost 80% of all illnesses and deaths in low and middle-income countries are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions, further evidence-based and scientifically-rigorous studies should be conducted to better inform public health interventions in these contexts where financial and material resources are lacking [ 117 ].…”

Short communication: New report of Aedes albopictus in Souk Ahras, Northeast Algeria

“…Huge efforts to mitigate the viruses' emerging public health threat have been made at different levels (individual, environmental and household), especially by improving biomedical research to prevent infectious vector-borne diseases (Chan et al 2020). Unfortunately, the dynamics of arbovirus vectors such as Ae.…”

Sand Flies Control: A Review of the Knowledge of Health Professionals and the Local Community, Province of El Hajeb, Morocco

“…In fact, the North has historically been known as an epidemic focus of visceral leishmaniasis with Leishmaniainfantum (L. infantum) and the South has been recognized as an active focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis with Leishmania major, while the center of the country has been characterized by the cohabitation of both cutaneous and visceral forms [6,9,10]. The spread of these vector-borne diseases is closely linked to the climate and the geographical expansion of the sand flies vector species [8,11,12].…”