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Vector-borne diseases are resurgent throughout the world. There are critical needs to develop novel approaches and strategies and improved public health capacity to prevent and control these diseases. Dengue is an archetypical resurging and emerging disease. At the Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, we are investigating novel strategies for Aedes aegypti and dengue control; including...
Dengue, dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome are endemic throughout South East Asia where they present a serious public health concern. The current status of these diseases in Thailand is described along with the challenges that confront those who seek to control the spread of these diseases.
In California, the endemic mosquito borne encephalitides, including West Nile virus, are contained by special districts using integrated vector management programs. These agencies combine public education, source reduction and proactive larval control to suppress mosquito abundance to the point where tangential transmission of virus to humans is rare or unlikely. However, when these methods in concert...
The transition from prescribed to adapted dengue prevention will need to be guided by meaningful goals and accomplished with effective tools. Goals will be reached if enhanced vector control is framed by an improved understanding of vector ecology in pathogen transmission. Longitudinal field studies that capture entomologic, virologic, and epidemiologic information are the most effective was to assess...
The development of recombinant DNA techniques has made it possible to significantly improve the efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) currently used to control larvae of important mosquito disease vectors. As part of this symposium honoring the career of Professor Mir S. Mulla, I briefly review here advances we have made using recombinant DNA technology to combine the most potent...
The past 30 years has witnessed a dramatic re-emergence of epidemic vector-borne diseases throughout much of the world. Factors contributing to this are many, but the principal drivers have been complacency and de-emphasis of infectious diseases in pubic health policy, increased population growth, uncontrolled urbanization without concomitant attention to water and waste management, increased globalization...
Contemporary research in the field of medical entomology is hampered by systems thinking, besides work processes and organizational structures that demand focus and inhibit creative and innovative initiatives. This leads to tunnel vision, limited lateral thinking, and forced attention to minutia with limited added value. PhD projects, in particular, are severely affected by this. Students focus on...
In this paper I will attempt to provide an overview of some of the current issues concerning exotic pest/vector mosquitoes and invasive/emerging disease in Australia. Malaria continues to threaten Australia with its continuing high levels activity in neighboring Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands; there are many hundreds of imported cases and the occasional local (introduced) transmission in...
Global climate variability patterns, such as those associated with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomena, have been shown to have an impact on vector-borne infectious disease outbreaks. Evidence of the links between ENSO driven climate anomalies and infectious diseases, particularly those transmitted by insects, can allow us to provide improved long range forecasts of an epidemic or epizootic...
The insecticide DDT proved to be a potent tool in the control of insect vectors of human pathogens and directly led to the saving of many lives throughout the world during the middle of the 20th century. Reaction to environmental concerns over the use of DDT and other insecticides led to ban on the use of DDT. The cost-benefit outcome of this decision is discussed in light of the re-emergence of many...
Medical entomology has undergone significant change during the past fifty years of Mir Mulla’s service and leadership in the field. Significant advances have been made on a number of fronts, both in the field and in the lab leading to ongoing efforts to rein in vector-borne disease. These are discussed along with the identification of areas in which new research directions and synergies are needed.
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