Global Health Impacts of Vector-Borne Diseases

Pathogens transmitted among humans, animals, or plants by insects and arthropod vectors have been responsible for significant morbidity and mortality throughout recorded history. Such vector-borne diseases – including malaria, dengue, yellow fever, and plague – together accounted for more human disease and death in the 17th through early 20th centuries than all other causes combined. Over the past three decades, previously controlled vector-borne diseases have resurged or reemerged in new geographic locations, and several newly identified pathogens and vectors have triggered disease outbreaks in plants and animals, including humans.



Domestic and international capabilities to detect, identify, and effectively respond to vector-borne diseases are limited. Few vaccines have been developed against vector-borne pathogens. At the same time, drug resistance has developed in vector-borne pathogens while their vectors are increasingly resistant to insecticide controls. Furthermore, the ranks of scientists trained to conduct research in key fields including medical entomology, vector ecology, and tropical medicine have dwindled, threatening prospects for addressing vector-borne diseases now and in the future.



In June 2007, as these circumstances became alarmingly apparent, the Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a workshop to explore the dynamic relationships among host, pathogen(s), vector(s), and ecosystems that characterize vector-borne diseases. Revisiting this topic in September 2014, the Forum organized a workshop to examine trends and patterns in the incidence and prevalence of vector-borne diseases in an increasingly interconnected and ecologically disturbed world, as well as recent developments to meet these dynamic threats. Participants examined the emergence and global movement of vector-borne diseases, research priorities for understanding their biology and ecology, and global preparedness for and progress toward their prevention, control, and mitigation. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Workshop Overview
A1 - Emerging Insect-Transmitted Plant Diseases: The Bacterium Xylella fastidiosa as a Case Study - Rodrigo P. P. Almeida and L. Nunney
A2 - Genetic Control of Aedes Mosquitoes - Luke Alphey, Andrew McKemey, Derric Nimmo, Marco Neira Oviedo, Renaud Lacroix, Kelly Matzen, and Camilla Beech
A3 - The Intensifying Storm: Domestication of Aedes aegypti, Urbanization of Arboviruses, and Emerging Insecticide Resistance - Barry J. Beaty, William C. Black IV, Lars Eisen, Adriana E. Flores, Julin E. Garca-Rejn, Mara Loroo-Pino, and Karla Saavedra-Rodriguez
A4 - Dengue, Chikungunya, and Other Vector-Borne Diseases (VBDs): Surveillance and Response in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Role of the Pan American Health Organization - Luis Gerardo Castellanos
A5 - Vector-Borne Diseases: Animals and Patterns - Margot Stuchin, Catherine C. Machalaba, William B. Karesh
A6 - Drivers, Dynamics, and Control of Emerging Vector-Borne Zoonotic Diseases - A. Marm Kilpatrick and Sarah E. Randolph
A7 - Climate Teleconnections, Weather Extremes, and Vector-Borne Disease Outbreaks - Kenneth J. Linthicum, Assaf Anyamba, Seth C. Britch, Jennifer L. Small, and Compton J. Tucker
A8 - Changing Paradigms for Tick-Borne Diseases in the Americas - Christopher D. Paddock, Robert S. Lane, J. Erin Staples, and Marcelo B. Labruna
A9 - Emerging Vector-Borne Diseases in the United States: What Is Next, and Are We Prepared? - Lyle R. Petersen, Roger S. Nasci, Charles B. Beard, and Robert F. Massung
A10 - Arbovirus Evolution, Vector Competence, and Virulence Models - Changing Patterns of Infection - Corey W. Hecksel and Rebecca Rico-Hesse
A11 - Vector-Borne Disease Emergence and Spread in the European Union - Jan C. Semenza
A12 - Disruption of Insect Transmission of Plant Viruses, - Anna E. Whitfield and Dorith Rotenberg
Appendix B: Agenda
Appendix C: Acronyms
Appendix D: Glossary
Appendix E: Speaker Biographies