Pathogenic Landscape of Transboundary Zoonotic Diseases in the Mexico–US Border Along the Rio Grande

Abstract

Transboundary zoonotic diseases, several of which are vector borne, can maintain a dynamic focus and have pathogens circulating in geographic regions encircling multiple geopolitical boundaries. Global change is intensifying transboundary problems, including the spatial variation of the risk and incidence of zoonotic diseases. The complexity of these challenges can be greater in areas where rivers delineate international boundaries and encompass transitions between ecozones. The Rio Grande serves as a natural border between the US State of Texas and the Mexican States of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Not only do millions of people live in this transboundary region, but also a substantial amount of goods and people pass through it everyday. Moreover, it occurs over a region that functions as a corridor for animal migrations, and thus links the Neotropic and Nearctic biogeographic zones, with the latter being a known foci of zoonotic diseases. However, the pathogenic landscape of important zoonotic diseases in the south Texas–Mexico transboundary region remains to be fully understood. An international perspective on the interplay between disease systems, ecosystem processes, land use, and human behaviors is applied here to analyze landscape and spatial features of Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Hantavirus disease, Lyme Borreliosis, Leptospirosis, Bartonellosis, Chagas disease, human Babesiosis, and Leishmaniasis. Surveillance systems following the One Health approach with a regional perspective will help identifying opportunities to mitigate the health burden of those diseases on human and animal populations. It is proposed that the Mexico–US border along the Rio Grande region be viewed as a continuum landscape where zoonotic pathogens circulate regardless of national borders.

Serologic screening of United States blood donors for Babesia microti using an investigational enzyme immunoassay

“…A total of five of these 11 EIA-reactive donors had positive immunoblots, which may be due to exposure to either B. microti or a similar organism or may represent cross-reactivity from unrelated sources. Enzootic B. microti has been reported in Colorado, 31 and pathogenic Babesia species have been described in Mexico; 32 thus, exposure in or near New Mexico may be a possibility, in addition to the possibility of exposure during travel to other states. Sera from patients with Lyme disease and anaplasmosis were found to yield low levels of reactivity in the B. microti EIA, an expected result based on the known occurrence of coin-fections by ticks carrying B. microti along with B. burgdorferi or A. phagocytophilum , 33,34 or alternatively of serial infections by these organisms leaving overlapping antibody titers in the human host.…”

Potential economic impact assessment for cattle parasites in Mexico. Review

“…It has been estimated that 80 % of the world's cattle population is exposed to tick infestation (45) . Ticks are responsible for a variety of losses, caused by the direct effect of attachment, injection of toxins, or through the morbidity and mortality associated with tick-borne pathogens (46) , and secondary problems as the enhancement of transmission of Dermatophilosis, myiasis (47) , or udder damage by tick species belonging to the genus Amblyomma (48) . The estimated annual global costs associated with ticks and tick-transmitted pathogens range between US$ 13.9 billion and US$ 18.7 billion (49) .…”

The arundo wasp, Tetramesa romana, does not control giant river reed, Arundo donax, in Texas, USA

“…In addition to problems caused by A. donax with water flow and competition against indigenous riparian plant communities, the stated rationale for promoting the introduction of T. romana into the USA has also involved occasional incursions of cattle fever ticks [ Rhipicephalus annulatus (Say) and Rhipicephalus microplus (Canestrini)] from Mexico into the USA by providing a favorable habitat (Racelis et al., ; Esteve‐Gassent et al., ). Bags containing engorged adult female R. microplus were deployed under leaf litter in A. donax and forest habitats; 57 and 83.3% of the engorged ticks were alive after 11 days in A. donax and the forest habitat, respectively, and egg survivorship after 42 days was the same in both habitats (Racelis et al., ).…”