The Arboviruses: Quo Vadis?
Duane J. Gubler and Nikos Vasilakis
from: Arboviruses: Molecular Biology, Evolution and Control (Edited by: Nikos Vasilakis and Duane J. Gubler). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2016) Pages: 1-6.
Abstract
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are the causative agents of significant morbidity and mortality among humans and domestic animals globally. They are maintained in complex biological life cycles, involving a primary vertebrate host and a primary arthropod vector. These cycles exist in natural sylvatic or urban foci of transmission. Arboviruses may emerge from their ecologically distinct nidus when humans or domestic animals unknowingly encroach on their environment, leading to local, regional or in some instances global epidemics. The principal drivers of epidemic arboviral disease emergence are anthropogenic, fueled by uncontrolled human population growth, economic development and globalization, combined with societal and technological changes. Other factors contributing to arboviral disease emergence are environmental changes, including urbanization, changes in land and water use, agricultural and animal husbandry practices, new irrigation systems and deforestation. Unless these trends are controlled and eventually reversed, the future will likely see more widespread and larger epidemics of arboviral disease read more ...
