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Review
. 2016 Feb 19:5:13.
doi: 10.1186/s40249-016-0109-x.

The landscape epidemiology of echinococcoses

Angela M Cadavid Restrepo  1 , Yu Rong Yang  2   3 , Donald P McManus  4 , Darren J Gray  5   6 , Patrick Giraudoux  7   8 , Tamsin S Barnes  9   10 , Gail M Williams  11 , Ricardo J Soares Magalhães  12   13 , Nicholas A S Hamm  14 , Archie C A Clements  15
Affiliations
Review

The landscape epidemiology of echinococcoses

Angela M Cadavid Restrepo et al. Infect Dis Poverty. .

Abstract

Echinococcoses are parasitic diseases of major public health importance globally. Human infection results in chronic disease with poor prognosis and serious medical, social and economic consequences for vulnerable populations. According to recent estimates, the geographical distribution of Echinococcus spp. infections is expanding and becoming an emerging and re-emerging problem in several regions of the world. Echinococcosis endemicity is geographically heterogeneous and over time it may be affected by global environmental change. Therefore, landscape epidemiology offers a unique opportunity to quantify and predict the ecological risk of infection at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Here, we review the most relevant environmental sources of spatial variation in human echinococcosis risk, and describe the potential applications of landscape epidemiological studies to characterise the current patterns of parasite transmission across natural and human-altered landscapes. We advocate future work promoting the use of this approach as a support tool for decision-making that facilitates the design, implementation and monitoring of spatially targeted interventions to reduce the burden of human echinococcoses in disease-endemic areas.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual diagram of the environmental factors influencing the transmission dynamics of Echinococcus granulosus at different spatial scales
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Conceptual diagram of the environmental factors influencing the transmission dynamics of Echinococcus multilocularis at different spatial scales
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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