Environmental monitoring to enhance comprehension and control of infectious diseases.
In a world of emerging and resurging infectious diseases, dominated by zoonoses, environmental monitoring plays a vital role in our understanding their dynamics and their spillover to humans. Here, we critically review the ecology, epidemiology and need for monitoring of a variety of directly transmitted (Sin Nombre virus, Avian Influenza) and vector-borne (Ross River virus, West Nile virus, Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and babesiosis) zoonoses. We focus on the valuable role that existing monitoring plays in the understanding of these zoonoses, the demands for new monitoring, and how improvements can be made to existing monitoring. We also identify the fruitful outcomes which would result from implementation of the monitoring demands we have highlighted. This review aims to promote improvements in our understanding of zoonoses, their management, and public health by encouraging discussion among researchers and public health officials.
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, 1619 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. scott.carver@colostate.edu
Scott
S
Carver
A Marm
AM
Kilpatrick
Amy
A
Kuenzi
Richard
R
Douglass
Richard S
RS
Ostfeld
Philip
P
Weinstein
D000818:Animals; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000821:virology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods