Parasites and wildlife in a changing world: The vector-host- pathogen interaction as a learning case

Abstract

In the Anthropocene context, changes in climate, land use and biodiversity are considered among the most important anthropogenic factors affecting parasites-host interaction and wildlife zoonotic diseases emergence. Transmission of vector borne pathogens are particularly sensitive to these changes due to the complexity of their cycle, where the transmission of a microparasite depends on the interaction between its vector, usually a macroparasite, and its reservoir host, in many cases represented by a wildlife vertebrate. The scope of this paper focuses on the effect of some major, fast-occurring anthropogenic changes on the vectorial capacity for tick and mosquito borne pathogens. Specifically, we review and present the latest advances regarding two emerging vector-borne viruses in Europe: Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and West Nile virus (WNV). In both cases, variation in vector to host ratio is critical in determining the intensity of pathogen transmission and consequently infection hazard for humans. Forecasting vector-borne disease hazard under the global change scenarios is particularly challenging, requiring long term studies based on a multidisciplinary approach in a One-Health framework.

90 Days of COVID-19 Social Distancing and Its Impacts on Air Quality and Health in Sao Paulo, Brazil

“…and mega-trends in climate accompanied by extreme weather conditions makes the population becomes increasingly vulnerable. These conditions have resulted in several socioeconomic impacts, such as morbidities, mortality, migration, poverty exacerbation, violent conflict, affecting people of all ages and all nationalities (Rizzoli et al, 2019;Grande et al, 2020;Watts et al, 2018).…”

“…Several factors, mainly of anthropogenic origin, are related to increased risk of disease outbreaks of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases, such as mega-trends in human population growth, ecosystems reduction and fragmentation and land use modification and climate change (Rizzoli et al, 2019;Allen et al, 2017;Guo et al, 2019;Loh et al, 2015). Therefore, the relationship between a pandemic, as the current COVID-19, global environmental change and human health is overly complex and deep.…”

The Ecological Importance of Amphipod–Parasite Associations for Aquatic Ecosystems

“…In the Anthropocene Epoch, climate change emerges as one of the most important factors affecting the host-parasite equilibrium [62], but the knowledge of the joint effects of parasitism and climate change is limited [63,64]. Communities and ecosystems could be directly and indirectly affected by climatic conditions due to the influence that thermic variations exert on parasitism [65,66].…”

The application of essential oils as a next-generation of pesticides: recent developments and future perspectives

“…In close connection to their insecticidal potential, the natural extracts and EOs can be applied as acaricidal agents. The Acari, in its largest sense, refers to mites and ticks, both types of arachnids having economical and medical importance, affecting multiple crops types, as well as representing vectors for a large number of diseases [94][95][96]. In the last years, several review articles described the use of natural alternatives to the synthetic acaricides [97][98][99], works that we recommend for further reading.…”