title: Public health and vector-borne diseases - a new concept for risk governance.
abstract: Public Health is defined as an interdisciplinary multilevel approach that deals with questions of preventing diseases at the population level. In this context, this paper focuses on vector-borne diseases as an important threat with an increasing impact on human and animal health. Emphasis is laid on an integrated health approach ('One-Health' initiative) as it recognizes the interrelated nature of both human and animal health. The importance of vector-borne diseases to new and emerging diseases in Europe was demonstrated, for example, by the recent outbreak of West Nile virus infections in Greece, Northern Italy and Hungary; the spread of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus across Turkey, south-western countries of the former USSR and the Balkans; the dramatic increase in hantavirus infections in Germany in 2012; and the dengue virus outbreak in Portugal in the same year. This paper provides a systematic approach for the analysis, assessment and governance of emerging health risks attributed to vector-borne diseases by using a holistic approach developed by the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC), called the 'IRGC Risk Governance Framework'. It can be used by decision-makers and general Public Health authorities in order to evaluate the situation regarding any specific pathogen or Public Health risk and to decide if additional measures should be implemented.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases at Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald - Isle of Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Dressel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niedrig
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mertens
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Schüle
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Groschup
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000502:physiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004199:Disease Vectors; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000502:physiology; D018778:Hantavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D003225:Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo / Q000502:physiology; D006479:Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D012306:Risk; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000502:physiology; D015047:Zoonoses
keywords: Europe; IRGC model; Public Health; risk governance; vector-borne infections