Abstract
Humans and wildlife are at risk from certain vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, and West Nile and yellow fevers. Factors linked to global change, including habitat alteration, land-use intensification, the spread of alien species, and climate change, are operating on a global scale and affect both the incidence and distribution of many vector-borne diseases. Hence, understanding the drivers that regulate the transmission of pathogens in the wild is of great importance for ecological, evolutionary, health, and economic reasons. In this literature review, we discuss the ecological factors potentially affecting the transmission of two mosquito-borne pathogens circulating naturally between birds and mosquitoes, namely, West Nile virus (WNV) and the avian malaria parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Traditionally, the study of pathogen transmission has focused only on vectors or hosts and the interactions between them, while the role of landscape has largely been ignored. However, from an ecological point of view, it is essential not only to study the interaction between each of these organisms but also to understand the environmental scenarios in which these processes take place. We describe here some of the similarities and differences in the transmission of these two pathogens and how research into both systems may facilitate a greater understanding of the dynamics of vector-borne pathogens in the wild.
Highlights
The transmission of vector-borne zoonotic pathogens entails the interaction of these organisms with their insect vectors and vertebrate hosts, a process that is greatly influenced by environmental factors including climate and habitat characteristics [11]
West Nile virus is a generalist virus belonging to the genus Flavivirus, with a complex eco-epidemiology, which is today regarded as an emerging zoonotic arbovirus
All too often, research projects focus only on certain aspects of their ecology, and, for instance, vector competence is more studied in West Nile virus (WNV), whereas the impact of landscape is more studied in Plasmodium
Summary
Vector-borne diseases (VBD) are illnesses that are caused by a pathogen transmitted to humans or other animals by blood-feeding arthropods such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. Pathogens are biological agents belonging to a number of very different taxonomic groups that include viruses, protozoa, and helminths, harbored by a host and harm its health, the level of virulence differs widely in the studied host–pathogen assemblages. The transmission of vector-borne zoonotic pathogens entails the interaction of these organisms with their insect vectors and vertebrate hosts (i.e., wildlife, livestock, or humans), a process that is greatly influenced by environmental factors including climate and habitat characteristics [11]. The study of VBD requires an integrative approach that combines knowledge of the pathogens circulating between the communities of both vectors (e.g., mosquitoes) and vertebrate hosts, along with an understanding of the environmental characteristics potentially affecting these interactions. We highlight the similarities and differences between their host–vector–parasite systems and describe how research can provide useful information for advancing the understanding of how biotic and abiotic environmental factors can affect the transmission of these vector-borne pathogens
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