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. 2019 Sep 3;56(5):1199-1203.
doi: 10.1093/jme/tjz074.

The Need for a National Strategy to Address Vector-Borne Disease Threats in the United States

Charles B Beard  1 , Susanna N Visser  1 , Lyle R Petersen  1
Affiliations

The Need for a National Strategy to Address Vector-Borne Disease Threats in the United States

Charles B Beard et al. J Med Entomol. .

Abstract

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) cause significant morbidity and mortality each year in the United States. Over the last 14 yr, over 700,000 cases of diseases carried by ticks, mosquitoes, and fleas have been reported from U.S. states and territories to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of reported cases has been increasing annually with two major trends: a steady increase in tick-borne diseases and increasing intermittent outbreaks of mosquito-borne arboviruses. The factors that are driving VBD introduction and emergence vary among diseases but are not likely to disappear, indicating that current trends will continue and probably worsen in the absence of effective prevention and control tools and implementation capacity. There are a number of challenges to preventing VBDs, including the lack of vaccines and effective vector control tools, insecticide resistance, and eroding technical capacities in public health entomology at federal, state, and local levels. For these reasons, a national strategy is needed to address VBD threats and to reverse the alarming trend in morbidity and mortality associated with these diseases.

Keywords: mosquito; national strategy; prevention; tick; vector.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Total Tick-Borne Disease Cases, United States, 2004–2017. Total number of reported cases of tick-borne diseases each year from 2004 through 2017.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Reported cases of Lyme disease in the United States. One dot placed randomly within county of residence for each confirmed case. Note: In 2016, Massachusetts transitioned to a surveillance method that relies primarily on laboratory reports. This method does not currently align with the national surveillance case definition as set by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. Therefore, information on most Lyme disease cases occurring in Massachusetts is not sent to CDC. Contact the MA Department of Public Health for case numbers. While Lyme disease cases are reported in the western United States, they are not shown on this map because there was not significant change to note over the time period shown.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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