TY - JOUR
T1 - Current knowledge of vector-borne zoonotic pathogens in Zambia
T2 - A clarion call to scaling-up “One Health” research in the wake of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases
AU - Mubemba, Benjamin
AU - Mburu, Monicah M.
AU - Changula, Katendi
AU - Muleya, Walter
AU - Moonga, Lavel C.
AU - Chambaro, Herman M.
AU - Kajihara, Masahiro
AU - Qiu, Yongjin
AU - Orba, Yasuko
AU - Hayashida, Kyoko
AU - Sutcliffe, Catherine G.
AU - Norris, Douglas E.
AU - Thuma, Philip E
AU - Ndubani, Phillimon
AU - Chitanga, Simbarashe
AU - Sawa, Hirofumi
AU - Takada, Ayato
AU - Simulundu, Edgar
N1 - Funding Information:
HS is supported by the Japan Program for Infectious Diseases Research and Infrastructure (JP21wm0125008 and JP21wm0225017), and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development. AT is supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) within the framework of the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) (JP20jm0110019). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Mubemba et al.
PY - 2022/2
Y1 - 2022/2
N2 - Background Although vector-borne zoonotic diseases are a major public health threat globally, they are usually neglected, especially among resource-constrained countries, including those in sub-Saharan Africa. This scoping review examined the current knowledge and identified research gaps of vector-borne zoonotic pathogens in Zambia. Methods and findings Major scientific databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, CABI, Scientific Information Database (SID)) were searched for articles describing vector-borne (mosquitoes, ticks, fleas and tsetse flies) zoonotic pathogens in Zambia. Several mosquito borne arboviruses have been reported including Yellow fever, Ntaya, Mayaro, Dengue, Zika, West Nile, Chikungunya, Sindbis, and Rift Valley fever viruses. Flea-borne zoonotic pathogens reported include Yersinia pestis and Rickettsia felis. Trypanosoma sp. was the only tsetse fly-borne pathogen identified. Further, tick-borne zoonotic pathogens reported included Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic fever virus, Rickettsia sp., Anaplasma sp., Ehrlichia sp., Borrelia sp., and Coxiella burnetii. Conclusions This study revealed the presence of many vector-borne zoonotic pathogens circulating in vectors and animals in Zambia. Though reports of human clinical cases were limited, several serological studies provided considerable evidence of zoonotic transmission of vectorborne pathogens in humans. However, the disease burden in humans attributable to vectorborne zoonotic infections could not be ascertained from the available reports and this precludes the formulation of national policies that could help in the control and mitigation of the impact of these diseases in Zambia. Therefore, there is an urgent need to scale-up “One Health” research in emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases to enable the country to prepare for future epidemics, including pandemics.
AB - Background Although vector-borne zoonotic diseases are a major public health threat globally, they are usually neglected, especially among resource-constrained countries, including those in sub-Saharan Africa. This scoping review examined the current knowledge and identified research gaps of vector-borne zoonotic pathogens in Zambia. Methods and findings Major scientific databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, CABI, Scientific Information Database (SID)) were searched for articles describing vector-borne (mosquitoes, ticks, fleas and tsetse flies) zoonotic pathogens in Zambia. Several mosquito borne arboviruses have been reported including Yellow fever, Ntaya, Mayaro, Dengue, Zika, West Nile, Chikungunya, Sindbis, and Rift Valley fever viruses. Flea-borne zoonotic pathogens reported include Yersinia pestis and Rickettsia felis. Trypanosoma sp. was the only tsetse fly-borne pathogen identified. Further, tick-borne zoonotic pathogens reported included Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic fever virus, Rickettsia sp., Anaplasma sp., Ehrlichia sp., Borrelia sp., and Coxiella burnetii. Conclusions This study revealed the presence of many vector-borne zoonotic pathogens circulating in vectors and animals in Zambia. Though reports of human clinical cases were limited, several serological studies provided considerable evidence of zoonotic transmission of vectorborne pathogens in humans. However, the disease burden in humans attributable to vectorborne zoonotic infections could not be ascertained from the available reports and this precludes the formulation of national policies that could help in the control and mitigation of the impact of these diseases in Zambia. Therefore, there is an urgent need to scale-up “One Health” research in emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases to enable the country to prepare for future epidemics, including pandemics.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010193
DO - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010193
M3 - Article
C2 - 35120135
AN - SCOPUS:85124808652
SN - 1935-2727
VL - 16
JO - PLoS neglected tropical diseases
JF - PLoS neglected tropical diseases
IS - 2
M1 - e0010193
ER -