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Nucleic Acids Research Jan 2022Emerging infectious diseases significantly threaten global public health and socioeconomic security. The majority of emerging infectious disease outbreaks are caused by...
Emerging infectious diseases significantly threaten global public health and socioeconomic security. The majority of emerging infectious disease outbreaks are caused by zoonotic/vector-borne viruses. Bats and rodents are the two most important reservoir hosts of many zoonotic viruses that can cross species barriers to infect humans, whereas mosquitos and ticks are well-established major vectors of many arboviral diseases. Moreover, some emerging zoonotic diseases require a vector to spread or are intrinsically vector-borne and zoonotically transmitted. In this study, we present a newly upgraded database of zoonotic and vector-borne viruses designated ZOVER (http://www.mgc.ac.cn/ZOVER). It incorporates two previously released databases, DBatVir and DRodVir, for bat- and rodent-associated viruses, respectively, and further collects up-to-date knowledge on mosquito- and tick-associated viruses to establish a comprehensive online resource for zoonotic and vector-borne viruses. Additionally, it integrates a set of online visualization tools for convenient comparative analyses to facilitate the discovery of potential patterns of virome diversity and ecological characteristics between/within different viral hosts/vectors. The ZOVER database will be a valuable resource for virologists, zoologists and epidemiologists to better understand the diversity and dynamics of zoonotic and vector-borne viruses and conduct effective surveillance to monitor potential interspecies spillover for efficient prevention and control of future emerging zoonotic diseases.
Topics: Animals; Chiroptera; Communicable Diseases, Emerging; Culicidae; Databases, Factual; Datasets as Topic; Disease Vectors; Epidemiological Monitoring; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Internet; Molecular Sequence Annotation; Rodentia; Software; Ticks; Virus Diseases; Viruses; Zoonoses
PubMed: 34634795
DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab862 -
Science (New York, N.Y.) Sep 2022Many endemic poverty-associated diseases, such as malaria and leishmaniasis, are transmitted by arthropod vectors. Pathogens must interact with specific molecules in the... (Review)
Review
Many endemic poverty-associated diseases, such as malaria and leishmaniasis, are transmitted by arthropod vectors. Pathogens must interact with specific molecules in the vector gut, the microbiota, and the vector immune system to survive and be transmitted. The vertebrate host, in turn, is infected when the pathogen and vector-derived factors, such as salivary proteins, are delivered into the skin by a vector bite. Here, we review recent progress in our understanding of the biology of pathogen transmission from the human to the vector and back, from the vector to the host. We also highlight recent advances in the biology of vector-borne disease transmission, which have translated into additional strategies to prevent human disease by either reducing vector populations or by disrupting their ability to transmit pathogens.
Topics: Animals; Arthropod Vectors; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Leishmaniasis; Malaria; Salivary Proteins and Peptides; Vector Borne Diseases
PubMed: 36173836
DOI: 10.1126/science.abc2757 -
Journal of Vector Borne Diseases 2022Vector borne diseases (VBDs) remain one of the greatest dangers to global health. At least seven VBDs of public health concern are prevalent in Egypt, including... (Review)
Review
Vector borne diseases (VBDs) remain one of the greatest dangers to global health. At least seven VBDs of public health concern are prevalent in Egypt, including schistosomiasis, fascioliasis, lymphatic filariasis, leishmaniasis, malaria, dengue, and Rift Valley fever. Although many of these diseases are preventable by using evidence-based protective measures, VBD expansion patterns over the past few decades pose a significant challenge for modern parasitology and tropical medicine. In their action plan, Egypt did not identify populations at risk of VBDs. Egypt intends to improve its regional and international communication to identify pathogens and infections and develop "One Health"- compliant preparedness and prevention strategies. However, cross-border collaborations are required for the control of VBDs. In this context, we provide a situational analysis and comprehensive review of the epidemiological data on Egypt's most prevalent VBDs based on an exhaustive search of the major electronic databases and literature from 1950 to 2019. We identified the gaps in Egypt's preparedness for vector-borne disease threats, including adaptation documents, surveillance and monitoring, environmental management, and preparations for the health system. There is a lack of implementation of an integrated vector management strategy that integrates chemical, environmental, and biological control as well as health education. This necessitates cross-sectoral coordination and community involvement to improve vector control activities and the use, storage, and disposal of pesticides.
Topics: Animals; Disease Vectors; Egypt; Pesticides; Public Health; Vector Borne Diseases
PubMed: 36124478
DOI: 10.4103/0972-9062.321759 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2023
Topics: Animals; Humans; Disease Vectors; Vector Borne Diseases
PubMed: 38026402
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1326243 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2022Vector-borne diseases have high morbidity and mortality and are major health threats worldwide. γδT cells represent a small but essential subpopulation of T cells.... (Review)
Review
Vector-borne diseases have high morbidity and mortality and are major health threats worldwide. γδT cells represent a small but essential subpopulation of T cells. They reside in most human tissues and exert important functions in both natural and adaptive immune responses. Emerging evidence have shown that the activation and expansion of γδT cells invoked by pathogens play a diversified role in the regulation of host-pathogen interactions and disease progression. A better understanding of such a role for γδT cells may contribute significantly to developing novel preventative and therapeutic strategies. Herein, we summarize recent exciting findings in the field, with a focus on the role of γδT cells in the infection of vector-borne pathogens.
Topics: Animals; Disease Vectors; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; T-Lymphocytes; Vector Borne Diseases
PubMed: 36052077
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.965503 -
Journal of Mathematical Biology May 2022Throughout the vector-borne disease modeling literature, there exist two general frameworks for incorporating vector management strategies (e.g. area-wide adulticide...
Throughout the vector-borne disease modeling literature, there exist two general frameworks for incorporating vector management strategies (e.g. area-wide adulticide spraying and larval source reduction campaigns) into vector population models, namely, the "implicit" and "explicit" control frameworks. The more simplistic "implicit" framework facilitates derivation of mathematically rigorous results on disease suppression and optimal control, but the biological connection of these results to real-world "explicit" control actions that could guide specific management actions is vague at best. Here, we formally define a biological and mathematical relationship between implicit and explicit control, and we provide mathematical expressions relating the strength of implicit control to management-relevant properties of explicit control for four common intervention strategies. These expressions allow the optimal control and basic reproduction number analyses typically utilized in implicit control modeling to be interpreted directly in terms of real-world actions and real-world monetary costs. Our methods reveal that only certain sub-classes of explicit control protocols are able to be represented as implicit controls, and that implicit control is a meaningful approximation of explicit control only when resonance-like synergistic effects between multiple explicit controls have negligible effects on population reduction. When non-negligible synergy exists, implicit control results, despite their mathematical tidiness, fail to provide accurate predictions regarding vector control and disease spread. Collectively, these elements build an effective bridge between analytically interesting and mathematically tractable implicit control and the challenging, action-oriented explicit control.
Topics: Animals; Basic Reproduction Number; Disease Vectors; Vector Borne Diseases
PubMed: 35508555
DOI: 10.1007/s00285-022-01742-2 -
International Journal of Environmental... Aug 2019For decades, researchers have debated whether climate change has an adverse impact on diseases, especially infectious diseases. They have identified a strong... (Review)
Review
For decades, researchers have debated whether climate change has an adverse impact on diseases, especially infectious diseases. They have identified a strong relationship between climate variables and vector's growth, mortality rate, reproduction, and spatiotemporal distribution. Epidemiological data further indicates the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases post every single extreme weather event. Based on studies conducted mostly between 1990-2018, three aspects that resemble the impact of climate change impact on diseases are: (a) emergence and re-emergence of vector-borne diseases, (b) impact of extreme weather events, and (c) social upliftment with education and adaptation. This review mainly examines and discusses the impact of climate change based on scientific evidences in published literature. Humans are highly vulnerable to diseases and other post-catastrophic effects of extreme events, as evidenced in literature. It is high time that human beings understand the adverse impacts of climate change and take proper and sustainable control measures. There is also the important requirement for allocation of effective technologies, maintenance of healthy lifestyles, and public education.
Topics: Acclimatization; Adaptation, Physiological; Animals; Climate Change; Communicable Diseases; Disease Vectors; Humans
PubMed: 31390751
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16152799 -
Cold Spring Harbor Protocols Apr 2023Phonotaxis experiments can provide information on the spectrum of sounds relevant to mosquito acoustic behaviors. It is widely known that males of disease-transmitting...
Phonotaxis experiments can provide information on the spectrum of sounds relevant to mosquito acoustic behaviors. It is widely known that males of disease-transmitting species are attracted to tones with frequencies resembling the wingbeat frequencies of their conspecific females. Thus, phonotaxis experiments can be coupled with wingbeat frequency measurements to inform the development of vector control tools such as acoustic traps and lures. This protocol describes how to set up and execute a phonotaxis experiment.
Topics: Animals; Female; Male; Culicidae; Mosquito Vectors; Sound
PubMed: 36223990
DOI: 10.1101/pdb.prot108012 -
Trends in Parasitology Apr 2020Mosquitoes are considered to be the deadliest animals on Earth because the diseases they transmit claim at least a million human lives every year globally. Here, we... (Review)
Review
Mosquitoes are considered to be the deadliest animals on Earth because the diseases they transmit claim at least a million human lives every year globally. Here, we discuss the scales at which the effects of ecological factors cascade to influence epidemiologically relevant behaviors of adult mosquitoes. In particular, we focused our review on the environmental conditions (coarse-scale variables) that shape the life-history traits of larvae and adult mosquitoes (fine-scale traits), and how these factors and their association, in turn, modulate adult behaviors to influence mosquito-borne disease transmission. Finally, we explore the integration of physical, physiological, and behavioral information into predictive models with epidemiological applications.
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Culicidae; Environment; Humans; Larva; Life History Traits; Mosquito Vectors; Vector Borne Diseases
PubMed: 32191853
DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2020.02.001 -
Parasites & Vectors Aug 2022An integrated approach to innovatively counter the transmission of various arthropod-borne diseases to humans would benefit from strategies that sustainably limit onward... (Review)
Review
An integrated approach to innovatively counter the transmission of various arthropod-borne diseases to humans would benefit from strategies that sustainably limit onward passage of infective life cycle stages of pathogens and parasites to the insect vectors and vice versa. Aiming to accelerate the impetus towards a disease-free world amid the challenges posed by climate change, discovery, mindful exploitation and integration of active natural products in design of pathogen transmission-blocking interventions is of high priority. Herein, we provide a review of natural compounds endowed with blockade potential against transmissible forms of human pathogens reported in the last 2 decades from 2000 to 2021. Finally, we propose various translational strategies that can exploit these pathogen transmission-blocking natural products into design of novel and sustainable disease control interventions. In summary, tapping these compounds will potentially aid in integrated combat mission to reduce disease transmission trends.
Topics: Animals; Arthropods; Biological Products; Climate Change; Humans; Insect Vectors
PubMed: 36002857
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-022-05367-8