Chapter 23: Eco-epidemiology of Tick-Borne Pathogens: Role of Tick Vectors and Host Animal Community Composition in Their Circulation and Source of Infections

Document Type

Contribution to Book

Publication Date

6-16-2023

Publication Title

One Health: Human, Animal, and Environment Triad

DOI

10.1002/9781119867333.ch23

Abstract

Tick-borne infections (TBI) are on the rise globally, causing severe illness and death in humans and domestic animals. Among the arthropod vectors of diseases, ticks are second only to mosquitoes in transmitting human pathogens, but overall, ticks carry the most diverse array of infectious agents when both humans and domestic animals are considered. Human TBIs are emerging infections because of increasing contact with wildlife, primarily caused by human environmental modifications and expanding encroachment into wildlife habitats. Ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBP) have coevolved in various wild reservoirs and often exist in a state of equilibrium. However, when domestic animals encounter wild animals due to the overlap of their habitats, novel ticks and TBPs can be introduced to humans. The epidemiology of TBIs reflects the geographic distribution and seasonal activities of the tick vectors and vertebrate hosts involved in maintaining these vectors and pathogens and the human behaviors that place individuals at risk for tick exposure. In this review, we compare detailed knowledge about well-studied TBI in the United States with the less known TBIs which need further investigations in Sri Lanka. The role of specific tick vectors and host community composition are important factors in the circulation and maintenance of TBPs. The epidemiology of many TBIs is more complex and complicated than of TBIs whose vectors carry a single pathogen and cause a defined disease in specific hosts. In complex TBIs, the interplay of many factors is involved; these include a diversity of tick vectors, overlap and variability in their distribution, each life stage requiring a blood meal, transovarial and trans-stadial transmission of pathogens, a diversity of coinfections with different agents, a wide range of host and reservoir diversity including birds, reptiles, mammals, and even amphibian hosts. The impact of changing ecological factors on the emergence and transmission of TBPs has become more apparent. Over the past two decades, the One Health approach to managing some disease systems has become more important in tackling these big questions.

Comments

Georgia Southern University faculty member, Marina E. Eremeeva co-authored Chapter 23: Eco-epidemiology of Tick-Borne Pathogens: Role of Tick Vectors and Host Animal Community Composition in Their Circulation and Source of Infections.

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