Abstract
Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) such as malaria, dengue, and leishmaniasis exert a huge burden of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly affecting the poorest of the poor. The principal method by which these diseases are controlled is through vector control, which has a long and distinguished history. Vector control, to a greater extent than drugs or vaccines, has been responsible for shrinking the map of many VBDs. Here, we describe the history of vector control programmes worldwide from the late 1800s to date. Pre 1940, vector control relied on a thorough understanding of vector ecology and epidemiology, and implementation of environmental management tailored to the ecology and behaviour of local vector species. This complex understanding was replaced by a simplified dependency on a handful of insecticide-based tools, particularly for malaria control, without an adequate understanding of entomology and epidemiology and without proper monitoring and evaluation. With the rising threat from insecticide-resistant vectors, global environmental change, and the need to incorporate more vector control interventions to eliminate these diseases, we advocate for continued investment in evidence-based vector control. There is a need to return to vector control approaches based on a thorough knowledge of the determinants of pathogen transmission, which utilise a range of insecticide and non–insecticide-based approaches in a locally tailored manner for more effective and sustainable vector control.
Highlights
Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) are infections caused by pathogens that are transmitted by arthropods such as mosquitoes, triatomine bugs, blackflies, tsetse flies, sand flies, lice, and ticks
Many VBDs are classified as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), e.g., arboviral diseases like dengue and chikungunya, Chagas disease, human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis (LF), and onchocerciasis [4]
This Review focuses on the main VBDs: Aedes-borne viruses, Chagas disease, HAT, leishmaniasis, LF, malaria, and onchocerciasis
Summary
Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) are infections caused by pathogens that are transmitted by arthropods such as mosquitoes, triatomine bugs, blackflies, tsetse flies, sand flies, lice, and ticks. Chagas disease, Japanese encephalitis, leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis (LF), malaria, and yellow fever threaten over 80% of the world’s population and disproportionately affect the poorest populations living in the tropics and subtropics [1]. Many of these VBDs are co-endemic, and it is estimated that more than half the world’s population live in areas where 2 or more VBDs are present [1]. While the global numbers of deaths from vector-borne NTDs is lower than for malaria, vector-borne NTDs continue to cause high levels of morbidity and represent a significant public health burden; e.g., from 1990 to 2013, dengue cases increased
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