title: Vector-borne disease intelligence: strategies to deal with disease burden and threats.
abstract: Owing to the complex nature of vector-borne diseases (VBDs), whereby monitoring of human case patients does not suffice, public health authorities experience challenges in surveillance and control of VBDs. Knowledge on the presence and distribution of vectors and the pathogens that they transmit is vital to the risk assessment process to permit effective early warning, surveillance, and control of VBDs. Upon accepting this reality, public health authorities face an ever-increasing range of possible surveillance targets and an associated prioritization process. Here, we propose a comprehensive approach that integrates three surveillance strategies: population-based surveillance, disease-based surveillance, and context-based surveillance for EU member states to tailor the best surveillance strategy for control of VBDs in their geographic region. By classifying the surveillance structure into five different contexts, we hope to provide guidance in optimizing surveillance efforts. Contextual surveillance strategies for VBDs entail combining organization and data collection approaches that result in disease intelligence rather than a preset static structure.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology, Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) , Bilthoven , Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marieta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Braks
authors.affiliation: Medical Entomology Group, MRA, Emergency Response Department, Public Health England , Salisbury , UK.
authors.forename: Jolyon M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Medlock
authors.affiliation: Medical Zoology Laboratory, Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences, v.v.i. , Brno , Czech Republic ; Faculty of Science, Department of Experimental Biology, Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Zdenek
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hubalek
authors.affiliation: Public Health Agency of Sweden (Folkhälsomyndigheten) , Solna , Sweden.
authors.forename: Marika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hjertqvist
authors.affiliation: Centre National d'Expertise sur les Vecteurs, Centre IRD de Montpellier , Montpellier , France.
authors.forename: Yvon
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Perrin
authors.affiliation: CIRAD, UMR CMAEE , Montpellier , France ; INRA, UMR CMAEE 1309 , Montpellier , France.
authors.forename: Renaud
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lancelot
authors.affiliation: Avia-GIS , Zoersel , Belgium.
authors.forename: Els
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Duchyene
authors.affiliation: Avia-GIS , Zoersel , Belgium.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hendrickx
authors.affiliation: Centre for Monitoring of Vectors, Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NWVA) , Wageningen , Netherlands.
authors.forename: Arjan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stroo
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory for Vector-Borne Diseases, Queen Astrid Military Hospital , Brussels , Belgium.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Heyman
authors.affiliation: Centre for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology, Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) , Bilthoven , Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sprong
keywords: disease burden; emerging diseases; one health; surveillance; threat; vector-borne diseases