Infectious Diseases And Arthropods

With the exception of a few tropical medicine schools worldwide, current medical education programs include almost zero discussion of the interface between infectious diseases and entomology. That is why this book was initially published in the first edition almost 17 years ago. The third edition of this valuable infectious disease entomology book updates all existing chapters with the newest scientific developments described in the medical and entomological literature in addition to covering 10 entirely new topics not addressed in previous editions, which include: · arthropod identification controversies · early beginnings of public health and disease control · red-meat allergy · updates on vaccine development for dengue and malaria · discussion of Chikungunya and Zika viruses · American Boutonnneuse Fever · the newest controversies in Lyme disease · recent findings of viruses in ticks · bed bug bite reactions · Morgellons disease (an imaginary infectious disease)

This book is an invaluable resource for information on the clinical presentation, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of major arthropod-transmitted diseases of dogs and cats. Illustrated in colour throughout, the book incorporates photographs of clinical cases, haematology, cytology and gross and microscopic pathology, which help understand the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. The book goes beyond just covering the diseases themselves and also provides information on the arthropods that transmit them. With the effects of climate change and increasing international pet travel, this book will be a valuable addition to every small animal practitioner's library.

Arthropod borne diseases cause enormous morbidity and mortality in most countries, mostly in those situated in tropical areas, but also in temperate regions. This book provides organized information on all arthropod related diseases, to prevent suffering and deaths, for medical students and professionals. Since arthropod borne diseases are present in many regions of the world and can even surprise professionals and lays in non-endemic regions, like malaria in UK and Canada, the author and its many expert collaborators are sure that it will be essential in all hospitals, clinics and medical libraries around the world. As arthropod borne diseases of domesticated animals are very numerous and in some cases related to human diseases, they are also included in the book.

In recent years there has been growing international focus on the importance of emerging and re-emerging arthropod-borne diseases in both human and veterinary medicine. Increasingly these diseases are being diagnosed and treated in veterinary practice. In this book the authors first discuss the overall significance of this group of diseases, plus arthropod biology and immunology, and current laboratory diagnostic methods, followed by individual chapters on each disease entity, grouped by causative organism (protozoan, bacterial, viral). Each chapter covers background etiology and epidemiology, including the role of wildlife species and zoonotic effects, pathogenesis, clinical signs, diagnosis and treatment. The book is illustrated throughout in color and contains photographs of clinical cases, hematology, cytology and gross and microscopic pathology. In short, the book provides an accessible guide to arthropod-borne infectious disease for veterinarians in practice and training.

Pathogens transmitted among humans, animals, or plants by insects and arthropod vectors have been responsible for significant morbidity and mortality throughout recorded history. Such vector-borne diseases â€" including malaria, dengue, yellow fever, and plague â€" together accounted for more human disease and death in the 17th through early 20th centuries than all other causes combined. Over the past three decades, previously controlled vector-borne diseases have resurged or reemerged in new geographic locations, and several newly identified pathogens and vectors have triggered disease outbreaks in plants and animals, including humans. Domestic and international capabilities to detect, identify, and effectively respond to vector-borne diseases are limited. Few vaccines have been developed against vector-borne pathogens. At the same time, drug resistance has developed in vector-borne pathogens while their vectors are increasingly resistant to insecticide controls. Furthermore, the ranks of scientists trained to conduct research in key fields including medical entomology, vector ecology, and tropical medicine have dwindled, threatening prospects for addressing vector-borne diseases now and in the future. In June 2007, as these circumstances became alarmingly apparent, the Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a workshop to explore the dynamic relationships among host, pathogen(s), vector(s), and ecosystems that characterize vector-borne diseases. Revisiting this topic in September 2014, the Forum organized a workshop to examine trends and patterns in the incidence and prevalence of vector-borne diseases in an increasingly interconnected and ecologically disturbed world, as well as recent developments to meet these dynamic threats. Participants examined the emergence and global movement of vector-borne diseases, research priorities for understanding their biology and ecology, and global preparedness for and progress toward their prevention, control, and mitigation. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Global warming and globalization are the buzzwords of our time. They have nearly reached a religious status and those who deny their existence are considered modern heretics. Nevertheless, the earth has become an overcrowded village, traversable within a single day. Thus it is hardly surprising that besides persons and goods also agents of disease are easily transported daily from one end of the world to the other, threatening the health and lives of billions of humans and their animals. Agents of diseases (prions, viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites) are not only transmitted by body contact or direct exchange of bodily fluids, but also by means of vectors which belong to the groups of licking or blood-sucking arthropods (mites, ticks, insects) that live close to humans and their houses. Without a doubt the recently accelerating globalization supports the import of agents of disease into countries where they never had been or where they had long since been eradicated, leading to a false sense of living on a “safe island.” These newly imported or reintroduced diseases – called “emerging diseases” – may lead to severe outbreaks in cases where the countries are not prepared to combat them, or in cases where viruses are introduced that cannot be controlled by medications or vaccines. Arthropods are well known vectors for the spread of diseases. Thus their invasion from foreign countries and their spreading close to human dwellings must be blocked everywhere (in donor and receptor countries) using safe and effective measures. This book presents reviews on examples of such arthropod-borne emerging diseases that lurk on the fringes of our crowded megacities. The following topics show that there is an ongoing invasion of potential vectors and that control measures must be used now in order to avoid disastrous outbreaks of mass diseases.

Despite great advances in public health worldwide, insect vector-borne infectious diseases remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Diseases that are transmitted by arthropods such as mosquitoes, sand flies, fleas, and ticks affect hundreds of millions of people and account for nearly three million deaths all over the world. In the past there was very little hope of controlling the epidemics caused by these diseases, but modern advancements in science and technology are providing a variety of ways in which these diseases can be handled. Clearly, the process of transmission of an infectious disease is a nonlinear (not necessarily linear) dynamic process which can be understood only by appropriately quantifying the vital parameters that govern these dynamics.