Abstract
The earliest members of genus Homo were surely bedeviled by blood-feeding arthropods, some of which doubtless carried zoonotic pathogens. However, the phenomenon of vectorborne human epidemic disease began only after humans began building settlements 15,000 years ago (1). Settlements offered pathogens not only host density but also opportunities for their vertebrate reservoirs and arthropod vectors to cohabit with us. Epidemic Yersinia pestis (the Medieval Black Death) was only possible because black rats (Rattus rattus), the host of the vector flea, had become extraordinarily successful at living off human garbage and nesting in our buildings.
Highlights
The earliest members of genus Homo were surely bedeviled by blood-feeding arthropods, some of which doubtless carried zoonotic pathogens
Persistence of human yellow fever, the seeming inexorable expansion of dengue, and the surprising, explosive spread and severity of first chikungunya virus and Zika virus bear testament to the threat posed by habituated Aedes species
Besides needing better methods of vector control, we need a strategy for preemptively identifying arboviruses with the potential for emergence and to devote resources to better understand their transmission dynamics, their endemicity, and accurate diagnosis
Summary
The earliest members of genus Homo were surely bedeviled by blood-feeding arthropods, some of which doubtless carried zoonotic pathogens. Best adapted of all are Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the cosmopolitan vector of epidemic yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. Evolution of blood-feeding arthropods to our changing environment and evolution of some zoonoses to exploit this advantage are major links in the emergence of obscure pathogens into epidemic threats and is a timely subject for this issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
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